South Korea National Police Agency has drafted new guidelines for handling seized cryptocurrencies as authorities move to improve how digital assets are stored and managed.
The draft directive establishes procedures which authorities must follow to manage crypto assets during all stages of seizure according to a report by Asiae.
New rules for crypto evidence management
The police spokesperson explained that current investigation needs digital assets which need technical expertise instead of traditional physical storage methods.
“In the past, seized assets were stored in warehouses. Now we must manage wallet addresses and private keys.”
the spokesperson
The guidelines aim to provide investigators with better systems and assistance to handle cryptocurrencies as evidence.
Your completely free resource hub designed to boost your knowledge of cryptocurrencies
The KNPA plans to establish a private custody facility through its upcoming provider selection process which will take place before the first half of 2026. Previous attempts to choose a provider in 2025 ended in failure because all applicants showed unfitness for the role.
The report showed that budget limitations continue to pose difficulties because authorities allocated approximately 83 million won which equals about 55 600 dollars for handling confiscated cryptocurrency assets.
Missing Bitcoin incident raises concerns
The new measures exist because authorities started to examine police work after missing cryptocurrency evidence case.
Prosecutors at Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office discovered that 320 Bitcoin disappeared from their custody during an investigation which took place in 2025.
An unknown hacker returned the assets to their original owner. Authorities sold the recovered Bitcoin and transferred approximately 31.59 billion won to the national treasury which equals about 21.5 million dollars.
The incident showed organizations about the hazards which come with managing digital assets. The organization used the incident to establish better procedures which protect their digital assets through custody and security measures.
