Coin Gate Aftermath: Kim Nam-guk's Controversial Return to Power

The lawmaker at the center of South Korea's "Coin Gate" scandal is set to return to the Democratic Party - the biggest political party in the National Assembly.

According to iNews24, Kim Nam-guk is to renew his membership in the Democratic Party by early May.

Kim is a member of the Democratic Alliance for Democracy Party, which is a coalition of small parties with close links to the DP.

However, the Democratic Alliance for Democracy "unanimously decided" to merge with the DP at a meeting held on April 22.

Coin Gate Scandal: MP Returns to Largest Party

If completed, the move would give DP "a large majority" in the Assembly, following the hammering defeat suffered by President Yoon Seok-yul's People's Power Party (PPP) from the April 10 General Election.

However, the news of Kim's return to the DP is not likely to be welcomed by all. Last year, the allegations had plunged the DP into a storm of controversy after reports emerged that Kim had sold crypto-assets while serving on a crypto-regulation-making committee.

Subsequent investigations into Kim and other lawmakers have given birth to what seems like an endless flow of political bickering about MPs owning crypto. The controversy Kim saw ostracised from the DP. He would eventually leave the party and join the alliance, which was a smaller group made up of left wing parties.

The alliance had already been brokered before the election, and it bagged 14 seats in the National Assembly.

Kim, the incumbent, went head-to-head against his PPP contender for the Ansan Danwon Constituency and handily secured the victory.

Kim won 51.32% of the vote, while PPP's Park Soon-ja got less than 47%.

No One St.defying Kim

"He is very willing to run and is enthusiastically seeking widespread support, especially from citizens in their 20s to 40s.

"The Democratic Alliance is accepting to unify with the Democratic Party by agreement. The party accepts the Democratic Alliance's proposal for a single joint candidate for the DP floor leader election. Hopefully, the merger process will be completed before May 3, the date of the DP floor leader election.".

He said the process would still have to be approved by the National Election Commission.

But with this process going ahead without a hitch, the co-chair told the BBC that "the result" would be "the formal dissolution of the Democratic Alliance.".

Kim first carried out solo activities as an independent lawmaker immediately after departing the DP. In March, he announced he would join the alliance, telling his Facebook followers: "Still, I cannot sit idly by when considering the brutality that may unfold through the dictatorial exercise of power by the Yoon Seok-yeol government.".

"Reporters quizzed Yoon Young-deok whether Kim would indeed be allowed to rejoin the DP. Yoon replied that it would be the case 'unless members of the alliance oppose the merger.'".

Scandal’s Fallout Laws introduced since the Coin Gate case have seen top judges and civil servants forced to make annual crypto declarations. The Declaration calls on public officials to publicly declare all their possessions in crypto, as welljsonwebtoken, those of their immediate family.

The combined group will have 156 seats, adding 142 to those of the Democratic Party in the 300-seat assembly. And these could further ripple into the massive, highly active South Korean crypto community.

Ahead of the April 10 election, DP leaders had promised that one of the conditions of his winning election would be to see regulators approve the offering of Bitcoin and altcoin spot ETFs. Some crypto advocates have questioned the DP's intentions in offering this pledge.

Some crypto advocates have raised questions about the DP's intentions in offering this pledge. Earlier this year, however, regulators said they would consider the matter after the election. Regulators did promise to consider the matter after the election.