Kim Hong-soo, Gangneung City Councilor, Sees Cryptocurrency Value Soar by 1,000 Times

Gangneung City Councilor Kim Hong-soo's cryptocurrency holdings have surged to a value of 12.9 billion won, an increase of over 1,000 times since its acquisition.

According to the "2025 Regular Property Change Declaration Report" disclosed in the Public Officials Ethics System, Councilor Kim is shown to hold the largest amount of cryptocurrency among high-ranking public officials.

This figure represents an increase of approximately 1.3 billion won compared to the amount reported last year.

In 2018, Councilor Kim purchased OES coins and Doncle coins for about 10 million won. He bought over 430,000 coins at a price of around 23 won each and has held onto them without selling for seven years.

Since then, the value of these cryptocurrencies has skyrocketed to 29,000 won each, raising the total value of his holdings to 12.9 billion won. During his asset declaration, Councilor Kim stated, "The amount of virtual assets is the same as before, but the value has changed due to fluctuations in coin prices and exchange rates."

Such a rapid increase in value within the cryptocurrency market is considered a rare occurrence.

For instance, Bitcoin has only increased approximately 12 times since 2018, while Ethereum has risen by about 4.5 times. With the sharp rise in value of the cryptocurrencies in which Councilor Kim invested, their proportion in his overall assets has also grown significantly, accounting for 96% of his total reported wealth.

However, the cryptocurrencies Councilor Kim invested in are not traded on domestic centralized exchanges, making immediate monetization difficult. OES coins can be traded on the decentralized exchange Uniswap, but liquidity is low, making smooth transactions challenging. For Doncle coins, transaction records have not been confirmed on other DEXs either. Consequently, it is analyzed that Councilor Kim has likely held onto the cryptocurrencies for an extended period due to the difficulty in cashing them out.

Despite the volatility in the cryptocurrency market, Councilor Kim's case illustrates how initial investment and a long-term holding strategy can yield significant returns. However, such investments come with high risks, and not all investors are likely to achieve the same results.

Image source: Kim Hong-soo, Gangneung City Councilor (provided by Gangneung City Council), illustrative photo for understanding the article / gettyimagesbank