Korean Officials Quit Jobs to Join Crypto Industry, Lawmakers Reveal

Officials in South Korea are increasingly choosing career opportunities in the cryptocurrency sector. Some of them come from financial authorities, raising ethical questions, according to findings from a Korean lawmaker cited by local media.

Former financial officials hired by major Korean exchanges

According to Roh Woong-rae, a member of the Korean Parliament from the ruling Democratic Party, more and more officials in Seoul are leaving their government positions and moving into the crypto industry. On Sunday he called for the introduction of stricter rules for their employment after leaving public service.

The lawmaker quoted by the Korea Herald revealed that an official from the 5th FSC ), recently left his position to join Bithumb, one of the leading digital asset exchanges in South Korea.

Roh acknowledged that regulations do not now limit this employment. At the same time, he believes it is quite inappropriate for a former FSC official to directly join a crypto company supervised by the regulator he worked for.

Government officials in Korea are classified according to seniority, with Grade 1 being the highest level. Only grade 4 and above officers of the FSC and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), another key regulator, are currently required to undergo an employment test before finding a job in a private company.

According to the Public Service Ethics Law, public servants above grade 4 are not allowed to accept a job in the private sector if it is relevant to their previous employment for three years from the date on which they leave the government job. Korea's antitrust regulator, the Fair Trade Commission, checks the employment status of all officials at level 7 and above, Noh added.

But lawmakers criticized the Civil Service Ethics Commission, which conducted the employment screening, for not thoroughly reviewing all cases. He provided an example with a senior FSS official who was in charge of the fintech division before finding a new job at Upbit, another major crypto exchange in South Korea.

Rep. Roh Woong-rae pointed out that the ethics committee did not see any problems with the move. However, in his opinion, the outcome of the review is difficult to understand since the official was involved in matters closely related to digital assets.

Such cases are not limited to financial regulators, the parliamentarian noted. He further revealed that a police officer from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, who led a team to investigate crypto-related crimes, is now also preparing to join Upbit. “Recruiting former and current FSC and police employees to regulate is very unethical as they serve as shields rather than experts,” Roh commented.

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