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Jeju Island in South Korea Concludes Cryptocurrency Investigation Involving Nearly 3,000 Tax Offenders, Confiscates Digital Assets
Jeju City, located in the South Korean island province of Jeju, has finalized a cryptocurrency-focused investigation involving nearly 3,000 residents with outstanding tax obligations, confiscating Bitcoin (BTC) and other digital currencies from numerous individuals.
The South Korean news outlet Newsis reported that tax offenders in the city have been “profiting from cryptoassets.”
Jeju’s Action Against Tax Offenders
On August 16, Jeju City officials announced that tax authorities have concluded a “thorough investigation.” Tax officials aimed to ascertain whether 2,962 individuals in the city possessed cryptocurrency holdings.
According to South Korean law, both national and local tax agencies can mandate domestic cryptocurrency exchanges to provide information on customers suspected of tax evasion.
The individuals involved owed the city more than 1 million won (over $719) in unpaid taxes and penalties.
Jeju City Hall. (Source: Jjw [CC BY-SA 4.0])
Collectively, the outstanding tax liabilities of these individuals totaled 19.7 billion won ($14,171,845) in arrears.
The investigation involved tax officials analyzing data provided by the four largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the country: Bithumb, Dunamu’s Upbit, Coinone, and Korbit.
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City Initiates Coin Seizures
The investigators confirmed that 49 of the individuals possessed cryptocurrencies in wallets on the exchanges. The total worth of this cryptocurrency was 230 million won ($165,458), according to the city.
The city has since exercised its authority to designate the exchanges as third-party debtors and has “initiated procedures to freeze and seize their assets.”
Jeju officials are expected to subsequently issue an ultimatum to the individuals, informing them that failure to promptly settle their debts will result in the city liquidating the cryptocurrencies.
The authorities also disclosed that they utilized AI-driven tools to assist in identifying tax evaders and “hidden” cryptoassets. Jeju City’s tax chief Hwang Tae-hoon stated:
“We will continue to enhance our efforts against tax evasion to uncover concealed assets like crypto. We will strive to track down assets belonging to high-value tax offenders. We will employ AI-based information analysis. This will aid us in increasing tax revenues and promoting a culture of honest tax compliance.”
A similar initiative in Seoul’s affluent Gangnam District has enabled tax officials to recover over $144,000 so far this year.
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