Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Auctions High-Value Seized Items Including Rolex Watches and Louis Vuitton Bags... 500 Million KRW Reverted to the Treasury This Year

Public Auction of Seized Mobile Phone Screens Only Since May 2018

Photo by Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Jeong-su) has generated approximately 500 million KRW in revenue for the national treasury this year alone by auctioning high-value seized items such as Rolex watches and Louis Vuitton bags online.

Additionally, by separating and disposing of phone screens unrelated to personal information from confiscated mobile phones that were previously entirely discarded, they deposited over 12 million KRW in sales proceeds into the national treasury just this month.

According to the prosecution on the 15th, the Criminal Evidence Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office auctioned three high-end luxury watches seized in connection with crimes through 'Onbid,' an online auction portal operated by the Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO), earlier this month, depositing 477.47 million KRW into the national treasury.

Among these watches, acquired with proceeds from online gambling site establishment crimes, a Rolex watch was sold for 201.69 million KRW, setting a record for the highest individual auction price, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office reported. The office set the minimum bid prices on Onbid based on appraisals from three professional appraisal agencies, but all three watches were sold at prices exceeding 130% of their respective minimum bids.

In January this year, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office sold three items, including a Hublot watch and a Louis Vuitton bag, through Onbid, generating 13.019 million KRW for the national treasury. This brings the total national treasury revenue this year to approximately 490.5 million KRW.

This amount represents a significant increase compared to 38 million KRW in 2018, 220.85 million KRW in 2019, and 9.2 million KRW in 2020.

In October this year, after assessing the market value of 1,445 general seized items such as accessories, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office sold them through competitive bidding, contributing 123.68 million KRW to the national treasury.

Meanwhile, the office recently deposited 12.01 million KRW from the sale of screens from 837 confiscated mobile phones into the national treasury. Since May 2018, they have sold screens from a total of 3,605 confiscated mobile phones, depositing 68.12 million KRW into the national treasury.

Previously, confiscated mobile phones were entirely discarded due to concerns about restoring personal information. However, since May 2018, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office has implemented a method of discarding the main body while separating and recycling only the screens unrelated to personal information.

The office also reported that proceeds from auctioning confiscated vehicles have amounted to 237 million KRW over the past three years.

A representative from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office stated, "We will do our utmost to manage and dispose of seized items used in crimes properly. At the same time, we will explore and implement various measures to increase national treasury revenue during the disposal process, striving to maximize income for the national treasury."

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