In South Korea, numerous public officials have joined crypto companies for more money’s sake, and recently, the country’s politicians have been speaking out against this trend. According to legislators, crypto companies are scrambling to ensure that they are compliant with new crypto regulations in the country. In this situation, more and more police officers and financial regulators are leaving their existing public service jobs for more lucrative opportunities in the cryptocurrency industry.
Recently, a high-profile exit from the Financial Services Commission saw a mid-level official joining crypto exchange Bithumb. Roh Woong-rae, a politician in the ruling party ranks and a labor and environment committee member, criticized the morals of public officials who are leaving their jobs.
The mid-level official’s move from the Financial Services Commission particularly irked Roh. The ruling party member said that the move was ‘inappropriate’ as it’s the Financial Services Commission that regulates crypto exchanges. While the Public Service Ethics Act restricts high-ranking government officials from joining new private-sector jobs relevant to their previous job, there are no such restrictions for low – mid ranking officials.
Recently, the South Korean crypto market experienced a major regulatory overhaul as numerous small and midsized crypto exchanges were wiped out. Only the four biggest exchanges were allowed to continue their operations by the government. This move came due to the overcrowded nature of the South Korean crypto market.
However, despite this stern regulatory action enforced by the authorities, South Korean public officials continue to leave their government jobs. Only time will tell how the South Korean government responds to this brain drain.
