According to local media sources, cryptocurrency assets confiscated from alleged tax evaders in South Korea in 2021 and 2022 totaled close to 260 billion Korean won (US$184.3 million).
Nearly 12.5 billion won, or $8.87 million USD, worth of cryptocurrency was the most ever taken from a single noncompliant taxpayer. The person apparently held 20 cryptocurrencies, including Ripple and Bitcoin.
After establishing the plan in 2020, the South Korean tax authorities began using cryptocurrency seizures to recover unpaid taxes last year.
After obtaining information from exchanges, authorities seize a tax evader’s account or cryptocurrency assets. The digital assets are liquidated at market value if the tax bill is not paid.
Kim Sang-hoon, a politician from South Korea’s right-wing People Power Party and a member of the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee, collected the information from statistics made available by the finance ministry and other governmental organizations.
