Tax officials in Pohang, South Korea, are going to confiscate cryptocurrency belonging to 5,208 citizens who have not paid their local taxes.

The action is a part of a nationwide purge. In 2023, the drive resulted in tax inspectors seizing coins and fiat valued at over $29 million.

Kyungbuk Shinmun and Daegu Shinmun claim that the people have all avoided paying municipal taxes totaling $370 or more.

The Nam Gu (Southern District) Office of the city said on April 7 that the action was a component of its "2024 Local Tax Arrears Collection Comprehensive Plan" campaign.

A Tax Crackdown in South Korea Might Lead to Coin Liquidation

The goal established by Nam Gu officials is to collect nearly $5 million in unpaid taxes from the public.

Nam Gu officials have set themselves the target of collecting almost $5 million worth of tax arrears from citizens.

They think people in the city have failed to pay over $12.2 million worth of taxes. Tax officials have combed through data from the four biggest domestic crypto exchanges – Bithumb, Upbit, Korbit, and Coinone using this data, where all wallets are legally bound to “real-name,” social security number-verified bank accounts, tax officials have been able to ascertain that 5,208 of residents who have fallen behind with their taxes own crypto.

The city announced that it has chosen to "seize" these people's coins in order to "actively collect delinquent taxes."

The city declared that it will "immediately seize" and "freeze" "transaction activities such as sales or withdrawals" if it has proof that the coins do, in fact, belong to "tax evaders."

The city further stated that "delinquent" taxpayers will thereafter receive a warning. The "virtual assets" of citizens who fail to "voluntarily" pay their tax bills "even after seizure" will be auctioned on the exchange market.

Head of the Nam's tax department Won Ki-ho

Gu Office, said:

“We will do our utmost to raise awareness of delinquent taxpayers. We will do so by seizing and selling virtual assets. And we will also introduce customized collection techniques suitable for the digital age.”

Last month, tax officers in the city of Hwaseong said they had seized crypto worth over $768,500 from “tax dodgers.”

Officers in the city said they had frozen $567,000 of the total from a single individual.

In January, tax officials in Incheon seized $375,000 worth of coins as part of a city-by-city crackdown.

More updates ahead.