South Korea Seizes Crypto Assets of Tax Delinquents

Tax authorities in Jeju City, South Korea, have initiated the seizure and confiscation of cryptocurrencies from tax delinquents, according to local media.

The total value of the frozen assets amounted to 230 million won (approximately $165,953 at the time of writing).

The investigation targeted 2,962 citizens with debts exceeding 1 million won (~$721). The total liabilities amounted to 19.7 billion won (~$14.2 million). Requests were sent to the four largest South Korean exchanges: Bithumb, Upbit, Coinone, and Korbit.

The head of the city’s tax office, Hwang Tae-hoon, stated that authorities will continue to leverage new types of assets to collect debts. According to him, this will help uncover “hidden sources of taxes.”

In the future, data analysis based on artificial intelligence is planned to track major delinquents and recover debts.

Back in March, the Financial Intelligence Unit of South Korea’s Financial Services Commission reported the blocking of 17 foreign crypto exchanges on Google Play.

ForkLog compiled the latest news on the tightening of crypto regulation in Asia.