ChainCatcher news, according to the Korea Herald, the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol, initiated by 191 members consisting of 190 lawmakers from six major opposition parties—the Democratic Party of Korea, the Justice Party, the New Progressive Party, the Basic Income Party, and the Social Democratic Party, along with one independent lawmaker—was submitted to the National Assembly plenary session at 0:48 on December 5 (local time).As the National Assembly must vote on the impeachment motion within 72 hours after its submission to the plenary session, the Assembly can vote on the case after 0:49 on December 6 (local time). The opposition plans to hold the vote on the impeachment motion as early as possible; if the motion is passed by the National Assembly, Yoon Suk-yeol will be immediately suspended from office.

ChainCatcher news, the Secretary General of the National Assembly of Korea, Kim Min-ki, held a press conference on December 4 local time, expressing strong protest against the unconstitutional and illegal acts that occurred in the National Assembly building and the resulting damages.Kim Min-ki announced that starting from the 4th, access to the National Assembly building will be completely prohibited for personnel from the Ministry of National Defense and police. He stated, "This is an emergency measure to protect the personal safety of National Assembly members and ensure the functionality of the Assembly."Kim Min-ki mentioned that the National Assembly will "thoroughly assess the physical and other damages caused by this declaration of martial law" and will hold those responsible for illegal acts accountable. He also noted that, according to current information, this incident has resulted in injuries to National Assembly staff, and efforts are underway to accurately count the number of injuries and their severity. (Kim Ten)

ChainCatcher news, according to Jin10 reports, the South Korean National Assembly has passed the request to lift the state of emergency.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, market news indicates that the South Korean National Assembly has begun a plenary session. CCTV news also reported that the South Korean martial law troops attempted to break windows to enter the National Assembly and arrest the lawmakers attending the meeting.In addition, the South Korean Minister of Finance will hold an emergency meeting on the economy and financial markets at 7 AM KST (6 AM Beijing time).

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, on December 4th local time, more than half of the members of Congress are currently in Congress, and if more than half of the members agree, the South Korean National Assembly is expected to pass a resolution demanding the lifting of the martial law.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, a large number of people are currently gathered outside the South Korean National Assembly, demanding to enter the assembly and shouting slogans on-site, calling for Yoon Suk-yeol to withdraw the state of emergency.Subsequently, the South Korean military has blocked the entrance to the National Assembly. The area around the South Korean presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul, has entered a state of full control.

ChainCatcher news, according to Yonhap News Agency, the Strategic and Financial Committee of the South Korean National Assembly has canceled the scheduled plenary meeting. The main reason is that the ruling People Power Party advocates postponing the taxation of cryptocurrency for two years, while the opposition Democratic Party of Korea supports implementing it as originally planned.According to the plan, South Korea will impose a 22% tax rate on cryptocurrency trading gains exceeding 2.5 million won. The Democratic Party of Korea proposed raising the tax exemption threshold from 2.5 million won to 50 million won, while the People Power Party believes that the current tax infrastructure is not yet完善, and that opportunities for asset appreciation should be provided for young people.The cancellation of this meeting also affects the previously agreed proposal for the abolition of the financial investment income tax by the two parties. According to regulations, if the relevant bill is not passed by the Standing Committee before November 30, but is related to the budget proposal, it can still be submitted for consideration at this meeting.

ChainCatcher news, the Planning and Finance Committee of the Korean National Assembly held a subcommittee meeting to discuss issues related to the postponement of cryptocurrency asset taxation, but ultimately decided to table the proposal. This decision was made to prioritize the review of other proposals, and the tabled proposals will be compiled for further discussion.The topics discussed in the meeting included: postponement of cryptocurrency asset taxation, calculation of acquisition prices, scope of tax data submission, and adjustments to the basic deduction amount, but no conclusions were reached. Currently, there is a significant divergence between the ruling party and the opposition regarding the postponement of cryptocurrency asset taxation. If the plan proceeds as scheduled, the relevant proposals are expected to resume discussions next week.

ChainCatcher news, according to News.bitcoin, the Seychelles National Assembly has approved a draft bill aimed at regulating virtual asset service providers (VASP). The bill requires VASPs seeking a license to establish a substantive business in Seychelles, such as having a resident director and an office staffed with capable employees. The law aims to balance innovation with anti-money laundering efforts, in compliance with the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

ChainCatcher news, according to Yonhap News Agency, about 7% of the candidates in the 22nd South Korean National Assembly election hold cryptocurrency. Yonhap analyzed the property declarations of 951 candidates running in 254 electoral districts across the country, including 698 local council candidates and 253 proportional representation candidates from 38 political parties, and found that as of the end of last year, 63 of them (6.6%) held virtual assets. The total value of virtual assets held by candidates and their spouses or children reached 1.093 billion won (approximately 810,000 USD), averaging around 17 million won per person (approximately 12,600 USD).Each candidate declared an average of 4.5 different types of cryptocurrency. Bitcoin is the most prominent cryptocurrency, held by 29 candidates. Among them, nine candidates purchased only one Bitcoin, while the remaining candidates mixed investments in various altcoins (cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin). Fifteen candidates also held Ethereum.

ChainCatcher news reports that an investigation by the Korean Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission shows that from May 30, 2020, to May 30, 2023, a total of 18 lawmakers held cryptocurrencies, accounting for about 6% of the total number of lawmakers. The number of lawmakers holding cryptocurrencies increased from 8 in 2020 (involving 24 types of assets) to 17 in 2023 (involving 107 types of assets).In addition, 11 lawmakers purchased a cumulative amount of 62.5 billion won (approximately 48 million USD) in cryptocurrencies during the investigation period, with a total selling amount of 63.1 billion won (approximately 48.6 million USD). The investigation involved 36 Korean virtual asset service providers. During the investigation period, the most traded cryptocurrency among lawmakers was Bitcoin.

ChainCatcher news, according to the South Korean media hankyung, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission of South Korea announced that it will establish a special investigation team for virtual assets of National Assembly members, starting on September 18, to investigate the cryptocurrency trading and holdings of National Assembly members for a period of three months.The investigation team is equipped with 30 professional investigators, and will investigate the status of virtual assets acquired, traded, and lost by National Assembly members from May 30, 2020, when the 21st National Assembly term began, to May 31 of this year, and observe whether it is consistent with the contents previously reported by members to the National Assembly's Ethics Special Committee.

ChainCatcher news, according to News1, the Korea Property Disclosure and Information Disclosure System Improvement Network (Finance Network) urges National Assembly members to expand the scope of personal asset investigations to include spouses and to conduct a comprehensive investigation of National Assembly members' virtual asset statuses.Previously, the National Assembly Ethics Review Advisory Committee received voluntarily submitted virtual asset reports from all National Assembly members by June 30, based on the supplementary provisions of the National Assembly Act Amendment passed in May.

ChainCatcher news, the "Virtual Asset User Protection Act" was passed in today's plenary session of the South Korean National Assembly. It is reported that the focus of this legislation is to protect virtual asset users and restrict unfair trading, making it the country's first legislation targeting virtual assets.According to a statement released by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea, the law is expected to be implemented in July 2024. The "Virtual Asset User Protection Act" mainly includes "protection of virtual asset users' assets," "regulation of unfair trading behaviors in the virtual asset market," and "supervision and sanctioning authority of financial authorities over the virtual asset market and operators." (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to Kuki News, the Political Affairs Committee of the Korean National Assembly confirmed that a hearing related to virtual assets will be held on July 11, following an agreement between the ruling party and the opposition. The theme of the hearing, as well as the witnesses and participants, have yet to be determined. The implementation plan for the hearing will be voted on June 30. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to News 1, the National Assembly of South Korea passed two bills this afternoon requiring legislators and senior public officials to register their virtual assets, namely the "National Assembly Law Amendment" and the "Public Officials Ethics Law Amendment." Members of the 22nd National Assembly will be required to register their holdings of cryptocurrencies in property matters, and members of the 21st National Assembly must register the amount and changes in their cryptocurrency holdings obtained and held from the start of their term until May 21 of this year by the end of June. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, the South Korean National Assembly's Administrative Safety Committee held its first legislative review subcommittee meeting and reviewed the "Public Service Ethics Act Amendment," which includes virtual assets in the property reporting and disclosure of senior officials, including members of the National Assembly. It is reported that under the current "Public Officials Ethics Act" in South Korea, virtual assets are not included in the property declaration. The controversy surrounding Congressman Kim Nam-guk, who left the Democratic Party due to allegations of trading and holding virtual assets, has accelerated the advancement of this amendment.According to South Korean media reports, the Administrative Safety Committee plans to hold consecutive plenary meetings on the 24th and 25th of this month, aiming to pass the amendment at the plenary meeting on the 25th.In addition, to prevent legislators with large amounts of virtual assets from jointly proposing a bill to delay taxation on virtual assets. The National Assembly's Special Committee on Political Reform also plans to open the first legislative review subcommittee on the same day to handle a bill that includes virtual assets in the private interest registration of legislators. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to News1, the Justice Party of Korea advocates for a survey on the current status of virtual asset holdings among all members of the National Assembly and has submitted consent forms for the provision of personal information for 6 affiliated members to the National Commission for the Protection of Citizens' Rights. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, the Political Affairs Committee of the National Assembly of Korea has passed the "Virtual Asset User Protection Act" in a plenary meeting held today. The focus of this bill is to protect virtual asset users and limit unfair trading, making it the country's first domestic legislation aimed at virtual assets. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, the first bill review subcommittee of the Korean National Assembly, held on the morning of February 27, failed to discuss the Basic Law on Digital Assets. The meeting presented 17 bills related to virtual assets, but the discussion was postponed due to amendments to the Capital Markets Act. Currently, the legislative proposals in the National Assembly regarding "restoring fairness in the digital asset market and creating a safe trading environment" and "regulating unfair trading in virtual assets" have not been discussed. Both bills include:(1) Offshore regulations applicable to offshore activities; (2) Prohibition of unfair trading practices, such as using undisclosed material information, market manipulation, and unfair trading practices; (3) Protecting investors and regulating unfair practices by granting the Financial Services Commission the authority to oversee the virtual asset market, conduct inspections, and enforce penalties. It is reported that Korean politicians had expressed intentions to establish a Basic Law on Digital Assets within last year, but discussions have been postponed multiple times. (TechM)