South Korea Sells $800k in Seized Crypto

South Korea’s tax agency liquidates over $800,000 in seized cryptocurrency from tax evaders. The authority is cracking down on crypto use for tax evasion.

The National Tax Service (NTS), a South Korean tax authority, has informed the public that it has liquidated over $800,000 worth of previously suspended cryptocurrency.

On May 14, during a press conference at its headquarters in Seoul, the NTS displayed a selection of the items seized during operations targeting “high-value” and “habitual” tax evaders.

A South Korean Tax Authority Liquidates Cryptocurrencies Amidst Ongoing Crackdown Efforts

In recent years, the NTS and its regional affiliates have cracked down on tax evaders who conceal their income with cryptocurrency investments.

The results of these enforcement actions have been highly favorable to the NTS and local tax authorities. Nationwide, they have confiscated and liquidated the coins of thousands of cryptocurrency holders by force.

In presenting its findings for the previous five years, the NTS detailed the implementation of “forced collections” for “641 high-value and habitual delinquents.”

The tax authority reported that it had seized coins worth more than $79 million from tax evaders as of 2021.

To unfreeze their tokens, these tax evaders have since paid the NTS more than $69 million in fines and delinquent tax obligations.

According to the NTS, coins worth $800,000 were “directly” sold by individuals who had neglected to pay their fines and outstanding debts.

This would indicate that the tax authority possesses coins with a current value exceeding $9 million. The NTS would most likely liquidate the entire $9 million if tax evaders failed to fulfill their obligations.

The chief of the NTS’s Tax Collection and Legal Department, Yang Dong-hoon, stated:

“The National Tax Service will achieve tax justice. We will do so by tracking the assets of high-value and habitual tax delinquents. Right to the very end.”

Tax Evaders ‘Living Lives of Luxury’

Additionally, the NTS provided information regarding the categories of assets it had seized and, in some instances, liquidated.

Valuable works of art and undeclared inheritances were among these. Furthermore, the bounty comprised prepaid golf course memberships and luxury automobiles.

The tax authority stated that tax delinquents frequently “live lives of luxury” in “expensive houses.”

In March, tax authorities in Hwaseong announced that they had seized cryptocurrency worth more than $768,500 from tax evaders.

This amount represented the seizure of approximately $567,000 from a single individual.