Tax authorities in Jeju City, the capital of South Korea’s Jeju Province, have begun freezing and seizing cryptocurrency from individuals suspected of evading taxes.
According to a Saturday report from local outlet Newsis, the action is part of a wider crackdown in which officials investigated 2,962 people with overdue taxes amounting to 19.7 billion won ($14.2 million). The probe aimed to verify whether these individuals held crypto assets that could be confiscated to cover their debts.
By analyzing data from major South Korean exchanges, Bithumb, Dunamu’s Upbit, Coinone, and Korbit, investigators found that 49 of the suspected tax evaders had digital assets worth over $166,000 in total.
The Jeju City Tax Division has now designated these exchanges as third-party debtors, enabling officials to seize and secure the cryptocurrencies to settle part of the unpaid taxes.
Hwang Tae-hoon – Jeju City Tax Division Chief“The city will continue to strengthen our response to tax delinquency using new assets such as virtual assets to thoroughly uncover hidden tax sources.”
27% Of The Population Of South Korea Are Now Using Crypto
The number of cryptocurrency users in South Korea has now exceeded 16 million, meaning that at least 27% of the nation’s population is involved on the crypto market.
In 2021, the South Korean government introduced legislation giving regulators the authority to seize digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC $115,161) from individuals who fail to pay their taxes.
Most recently, in November last year, officials in Paju, a city northeast of Seoul, announced they would begin confiscating and auctioning the crypto holdings of residents with outstanding tax debts.
