Jeju City, Korea, to Confiscate Cryptocurrency from Suspected Tax Fraudsters

Tax authorities in Jeju City, the capital of the South Korean island province of Jeju, have reportedly initiated the procedure of freezing and confiscating the cryptocurrency of individuals suspected of evading tax obligations. 

This action is part of a wider initiative that prompted officials to investigate 2,962 individuals in default for a total of 19.7 billion won ($14.2 million), to ascertain if they possessed crypto assets that could be seized to cover the outstanding debts, as reported by local media outlet Newsis on Saturday.

During the investigation, tax officials scrutinized information from prominent South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges such as Bithumb, Dunamu’s Upbit, Coinone, and Korbit, discovering that 49 of the alleged tax evaders held combined crypto assets valued at over $166,269.

The Tax Division of Jeju City has identified these exchanges as third-party debtors to initiate the process of seizing and securing the assets to assist in settling some of the debts owed by the purported tax dodgers. 

Tax Division utilized AI to evaluate crypto transaction data

Jeju is South Korea’s largest island and a tourist destination. It has a history with crypto initiatives, including the introduction of non-fungible token tourist cards and a blockchain-driven COVID-19 contact tracing application in 2021. 

Hwang Tae-hoon, the Chief of Jeju City Tax Division, stated that the city will “persist in enhancing our response to tax delinquency through new assets such as virtual currencies to thoroughly reveal concealed sources of tax,” according to Newsis.

He remarked that the Tax Division will also keep “pursuing high-value tax delinquents through AI-driven information analysis, aiming to secure significant tax revenue and promote a culture of honest tax payment.”