Cheongju City In South Korea Will Confiscate Crypto From Taxpayers Who Are Inflated By Taxes

The city of Cheongju in South Korea, the capital of North Chungcheong Province, has expressed its intention to start confiscating cryptocurrencies from local taxpayers who are tax-dependent.

The Cheongju administration has asked seven South Korean crypto exchanges to investigate the ownership of thousands of tax evaders, according to reports from local news agency Yonhap on August 22.

City authorities have reportedly ordered trading platforms such as Upbit and Bithumb to investigate crypto assets of 8,520 users who have local tax arrears of at least 1 million won (IDR 11.3 million). After the investigation, Cheongju authorities plan to confiscate cryptocurrencies from tax evaders.

According to city administration, cryptocurrencies are increasingly being used as a tool to hide ownership in South Korea. This latest initiative approach aims to ensure that South Koreans who avoid their tax responsibilities are accounted for.Upbit and Bithumb have not yet responded to a request for comment from Cointelegraph.

In 2022, Cheongju administration reportedly managed to collect taxes that were late from 17 individuals after obtaining details of crypto ownership from around 16,000 crypto investors. The city managed to collect a total of 68 million won (Rp770.4 million).

The takeover of tax-related cryptocurrencies has increased in South Korea in recent years. In 2022 and 2021 combined, the South Korean government confiscated up to 260 billion won (IDR 2.7 trillion) in the form of crypto from tax evaders. In 2021, the administration of the city of Seoul, the capital city of South Korea, confiscated crypto worth 25 billion won (IDR 332.3 billion) from individuals and heads of companies.

This takeover comes after the South Korean government enacted a law allowing regulators to confiscate cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin from tax evaders in 2021.

South Korea is not the only country that has confiscated cryptocurrencies from tax evaders. Last year, Argentine tax authorities confiscated more than 1,000 crypto wallets connected to taxpayers who disbanded in the country. The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) also took cryptocurrencies from tax evaders, according to Robert Wearing, head of the advisory board of the IRS deputy chief staff association.