Investigation Reveals South Korean Lawmakers Are HODLing PEPE, XRP, BTC

South Korean lawmakers are HODLing Bitcoin (BTC), high-cap altcoins like XRP, and meme coins like PEPE, a new report has revealed.

The South Korean media outlet Energy Kyungjae reported that it had investigated some of the National Assembly committee members charged with creating new investor-friendly policies to discover what they choose to invest in.

South Korean Lawmakers: PEPE, XRP-Keen

The administration of President Lee Jae-myung has talked of deregulating the crypto markets and ushering in the “KOSPI 5000 era.”

Authorities plan to nearly double fines for companies and individuals found guilty of deliberate accounting fraud and introduce new penalties for corporate leaders who order such misconduct. https://t.co/InaV8tnh6b

— The Korea JoongAng Daily (@JoongAngDaily) August 27, 2025

The President wants to promote capital market revitalization, usher in new stablecoin- and crypto-powered investment growth, and breathe new life into the stagnant South Korean stock market.

The media outlet said that it had analysed changes to the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee’s members’ assets since their last public declarations in March this year.

The newspaper wrote that the 16 lawmakers who make up the committee have “focused their investments on cryptoassets such as XRP and PEPE, overseas tech stocks, and unlisted shares.

By contrast, they seem to be “ignoring” the domestic stock market, Energy Kyungjae remarked.

The most active crypto investor was Jin Jong-oh, a proportional representative and a member of the main opposition People Power Party.

The South Korean lawmaker Jin Jong-oh speaking in the National Assembly earlier this month. (Source: @jinjongoh_official/Instagram)

The probe found that Jin is currently holding XRP 3,359, XCORE 8, and 214 Paycoin (PCI). The dollar value of these coins has “quadrupled” in recent months, rising from $1,768 to $9,579, the outlet wrote.

However, South Korean law also requires lawmakers to disclose assets belonging to their immediate family.

This measure was introduced to ensure lawmakers cannot hide their income and assets by registering them in family members’ names.

The investigation revealed that Jin’s mother “diversified her crypto portfolio.” She is currently holding a range of metaverse and GameFi-related coins.

Her holdings include Bitcoin, Chiliz, and Sandbox. She has also bought over 3.2 billion Pepe (PEPE) coins.

US Tech Stocks Also Popular

On the other side of the house, crypto enthusiasm is also high. Yang Moon-seok, a member of the ruling Democratic Party is HODLing XRP 452.6 (worth around $1,355).

The South Korean lawmaker Yang Moon-seok (left) on the campaign trail ahead of the June 3, 2025, presidential elections. (Source: Yang Moon-seok/Facebook)

The newspaper also found that many of the committee members have also invested in US tech stocks, buying shares in firms like Microsoft, NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, Broadcom, and Tesla.

Others have spent money on unlisted gaming stocks, buying shares in developers such as Xten Games and Memray.

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