Nowon-gu Tracks Virtual Assets Including Bitcoin of High-Amount Tax Delinquents

Tracking Virtual Asset Transactions of 719 High-Value Tax Delinquents Over 10 Million KRW... Seizure of Virtual Assets for 11 Individuals with Total Delinquency of 193 Million KRW

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Nowon-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Oh Seung-rok) will track virtual assets such as Bitcoin held by high-amount tax delinquents and proceed with compulsory collection.

This is because tax delinquents are using virtual assets as a means to conceal property, and recently the prices of virtual assets have surged, increasing the effectiveness of compulsory collection.

In March, the district requested major virtual asset exchanges such as Bithumb, Upbit, Coinone, and Korbit to check the virtual currency holdings of 719 high-amount tax delinquents who owe more than 10 million KRW, in cooperation with the 38th Tax Division of Seoul City.

This measure is based on the May 2018 Supreme Court ruling that "virtual assets correspond to intangible assets with property value subject to confiscation" and Article 36 of the Local Tax Collection Act (Questioning and Inspection Rights for Delinquent Disposition).

The district seized virtual assets corresponding to a total delinquent amount of 193 million KRW from 11 individuals identified in the first verification. Additional data for a second round remains, so the number of subjects and amounts are expected to increase.

When virtual asset holdings of tax delinquents are confirmed, the district plans to send seizure notices to virtual asset exchanges as third-party debtors and proceed with seizure and collection actions against the delinquents to pressure tax collection.

District Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, "The proportion of high-amount tax delinquents among the increasing delinquent amounts every year is continuously rising, and virtual currencies are being used as a means of property concealment," adding, "We will cooperate with Seoul City and others to increase revenue and eradicate chronic tax delinquency."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.