Incheon mayoral candidate Yu Jeong-bok defends undeclared virtual assets, faces criticism

Incheon mayoral candidate Yu Jeong-bok of the People Power Party is embroiled in controversy over allegations of failing to declare virtual asset holdings. During a televised debate, Yu repeatedly stated that his brother's virtual assets were not subject to his own property registration, asserting that the investment funds had been transferred to his account and were thus unrelated to him.

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This part clearly has evidence. Investment funds were transferred to my account, and since I invested without my involvement, it is clear that I cannot register it as an asset.

However, legal experts and the Ministry of Personnel Management, which oversees public official asset registration, contradict Yu's claims. A Supreme Court ruling from 2005 regarding a parliamentary election case established that assets registered under the names of the individual, their spouse, or direct descendants are subject to disclosure, regardless of the actual ownership. Furthermore, the Ministry of Personnel Management's guidelines indicate that even assets managed by an individual, such as committee funds, must be reported, with the details noted in a separate column if they are not personally owned.

Park Chan-dae, an Incheon mayoral candidate from the Democratic Party, questioned the validity of Yu's defense during the debate. "If any public official or their spouse receives hundreds of millions of won from relatives, purchases virtual assets on overseas exchanges, and then claims they don't need to report it, is that truly without issue?" Park asked, questioning the purpose of the public official asset disclosure system.

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If any public official or their spouse receives hundreds of millions of won from relatives, purchases virtual assets on overseas exchanges, and then claims they don't need to report it, is that truly without issue? If so, why does the public official asset disclosure system exist?

The allegations center on Yu's wife purchasing 7,000 cryptocurrency units in 2021 and acquiring an additional 14,000 units through mining by the end of 2024. The value of these assets at the time of acquisition was approximately 100 million won. Yu's reported virtual asset holdings for 2025 were around 58 million won, and his submission to the election commission this year only listed 53.07 million won in domestic exchanges. Yu evaded questions about whether he would amend his asset declaration.

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What is the total amount of virtual assets we have mined and the plan for withdrawal? Where are the 14,000 units now? We need to bring 21,000 units.