South Korea’s Goyang City Seizes Crypto Worth Over $228,000 from Traffic Offenders

The South Korean city of Goyang has seized cryptoassets worth over $228,000 from residents who failed to pay traffic fines.

Per Simin Ilbo , the city, a satellite of Seoul, announced it had taken the coins from crypto wallets belonging to 157 Goyang residents.

Goyang Seizes Coins from 157 Citizens

The city, in the affluent Gyeonggi Province, is a short commute away from central Seoul.

A lake in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. (Source: hyolee2 [CC BY-SA 3.0])

The move is a departure for local governments and provincial tax offices in South Korea.

In recent years, South Korean cities and provinces have made use of new powers to force domestic crypto firms to hand over crypto wallet data pertaining to their residents.

However, they have mainly used these powers to recover unpaid local tax bills. In many instances, they have liquidated citizens’ Bitcoin (BTC) and other tokens.

In other cases, they have given residents an ultimatum. They have warned: “Pay your fines or we will sell your crypto.”

Goyang’s move indicates that cities are now willing to go further. They now seem set to use their powers to seize coins from citizens who fail to pay a range of council-imposed fines.

The city said the 157 residents failed to pay a range of “vehicle insurance and inspection delay fines.”

Crypto Exchanges Handed Over Data

Goyang said it was responding to a rise in activity in the domestic crypto market. It said it “concluded that cryptocurrencies could be used as a means of concealing assets” by people who default on vehicle fines.

Gyeonggi Province asked the nation’s four biggest crypto exchanges (Bithumb, Upbit, Korbit, Coinone) to turn over customer data on Goyang-based individuals.

The province then matched up its data with its own list of “chronic defaulters.” It focused on Goyang residents with outstanding vehicle fines worth “KRW 1 million [around $696] or more.”

Goyang officials said they expect the move will encourage other crypto-holding citizens with outstanding traffic fines to pay up.

The city said its decision would help taxpayers “realize that there is no way to avoid unpaid fines” thanks to its power to “track and seize virtual assets.”

“We will continue to track and collect taxes from repeat tax defaulters with our collection techniques. We will do our best to ensure a system of fair taxation. Honest taxpayers should not be treated unfairly.”

Goyang City spokesperson