Rep. Kim Nam-kuk of the main opposition Democratic Party said Sunday he will leave the party amid snowballing allegations of his involvement in massive cryptocurrency dealings.

"Today, I am briefly leaving the Democratic Party that I love," he wrote on his Facebook page. "I decided that it would not be right to be a burden to the party and party members any longer."

Kim has come under fire following revelations he owned around 800,000 Wemix coins in 2021, worth around 6 billion won ($4.5 million), a significant amount inconsistent with his frugal image.

Allegations further surfaced that the first-term lawmaker traded cryptocurrency coins while he was attending at least two meetings of the judiciary committee of the National Assembly in May and November of last year.

"I believe I should not cause any kind of harm to the party at this important time," he said. "From now on, as an independent lawmaker, I will stand up to the unjust political offensive until the end and uncover the truth."

Kim added he will demand legal accountability over the numerous news reports he said were based on false information over the past week. (Yonhap)