Jungnang-gu Seizes Over 150 Million Won in Virtual Assets (Coins) from 6 High-Value Tax Delinquents

Forced Collection Tracking Virtual Assets Used by High-Value Tax Delinquents to Hide Property... 4 Cryptocurrency Exchanges Query Virtual Asset Holdings of 285 High-Value Tax Delinquents

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Jungnang-gu (Mayor Ryu Kyung-gi) announced that it has begun enforcing compulsory collection by tracking virtual assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, which high-amount tax delinquents have been using as means to conceal their assets.

This measure is based on the Supreme Court ruling in May 2018 that recognized the economic value of virtual assets and the amendment of the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information.

According to the amended law, virtual asset service providers, including cryptocurrency exchanges, must fulfill obligations such as reporting suspicious transactions and verifying customer identities, just like traditional financial institutions.

The district plans to fundamentally block cases where assets are cleverly concealed through illicit means by enforcing this seizure measure, so that residents who faithfully pay their taxes do not feel relatively deprived.

In April, the district requested the four major cryptocurrency exchanges?Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit?to provide the virtual asset holdings status of 285 high-amount tax delinquents with arrears exceeding 10 million KRW. Among them, virtual assets of six individuals whose holdings were confirmed were seized, totaling 147 million KRW in delinquent taxes.

If the delinquent local taxes are not fully paid, the assets will be sold or collected, and the district plans to expand investigations and virtual asset seizures in cooperation with Seoul City and others in the future.

Ryu Kyung-gi, Mayor of Jungnang-gu, said, “To actively respond to tax evasion by high-amount delinquents, we have expanded seizure targets to include virtual currencies, thereby establishing a new foundation for collecting delinquent taxes. We will ensure that residents who faithfully fulfill their tax obligations do not suffer, even under difficult circumstances.”

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