Gangnam District Collects 140 Million Won in Delinquent Taxes Through Virtual Asset Seizure

210 Million Won in Local Tax Arrears Seized in First Half of the Year
Gangnam District, First Among Seoul’s Autonomous Districts to Seize Virtual Assets Since Last Year

Gangnam District in Seoul (Mayor Cho Sungmyung) announced on the 12th that, in cooperation with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, it secured data from the nation’s five largest virtual asset exchanges and collected a total of 210 million won in local tax arrears in the first half of this year through the seizure of virtual assets. Of this amount, 140 million won was actually paid, successfully boosting tax revenue.

Gangnam District Office exterior. Provided by Gangnam District.

In particular, for one high-value delinquent taxpayer, an official personally accompanied the individual to the exchange and collected 120 million won on the spot immediately after the seizure was lifted, demonstrating swift enforcement. As such, the seizure of virtual assets is being recognized as an effective means of enforcing tax delinquency.

The mere notice of seizure has also proven effective in encouraging voluntary payment. One taxpayer, who had been delinquent on 19 local tax items including registration license tax since 2020, voluntarily paid 1.4 million won. In fact, during the seizure notice stage in January and February of this year, 120 million won in delinquent taxes was collected, achieving results without compulsory enforcement.

Last year, Gangnam District became the first among Seoul’s autonomous districts to fully implement the seizure of virtual assets, seizing a total of 340 million won and collecting 200 million won to date. This achievement has since expanded to all 25 autonomous districts in Seoul, laying the foundation for a system in which Seoul, in cooperation with its districts, can conduct batch inquiries and seizures of delinquent taxpayers’ virtual assets.

Moving beyond the current system, in which delinquent taxpayers must sell their virtual assets themselves and pay in Korean won, the district is accelerating efforts to establish a new system starting in the second quarter of this year. This system will allow the transfer of virtual assets to a corporate wallet using a nonprofit corporation’s account, enabling direct sale by the authorities.

Mayor Cho Sungmyung of Gangnam District stated, “Regardless of the amount, we will seize virtual assets from long-term delinquent taxpayers,” and added, “We will continue to realize tax justice by identifying new types of assets so that honest taxpayers do not feel deprived.”