South Korea’s Goyang City Takes Crypto Worth More Than $228,000 from Traffic Offenders

157 citizens in Gyeonggi Province have their coins confiscated due to outstanding fines exceeding $690.

Goyang, a city in South Korea, has confiscated cryptoassets valued at more than $228,000 from residents who neglected to pay traffic fines.

Simin Ilbo reported that the city of Goyang, a satellite of Seoul, had confiscated the coins from the crypto purses of 157 its residents.

In the affluent Gyeonggi Province, the city is a brief commute from central Seoul. The action represents a significant departure for provincial tax offices and local administrations in South Korea.

In recent years, South Korean cities and provinces have implemented new powers to compel domestic crypto firms to provide crypto wallet data related to their residents.

Nevertheless, they have primarily employed these powers to recoup delinquent local tax bills. In numerous cases, they have liquidated the Bitcoin (BTC) and other tokens of citizens.

In other instances, they have issued an ultimatum to residents. They have issued a warning: “If you fail to pay your penalties, we will sell your cryptocurrency.”

Goyang’s action suggests that cities are now prepared to go that extra mile. They appear to be preparing to employ their authority to seize coinage from citizens who neglect to pay a variety of council-imposed sanctions.

According to the city, the 157 residents neglected to pay a variety of “vehicle insurance and inspection delay penalties.”

Goyang stated that it was reacting to an increase in activity in the domestic crypto market. “It concluded that individuals who fail to pay vehicle penalties could utilize cryptocurrencies as a method of concealing assets,” it stated.

Gyeonggi Province requested that the four largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the country (Bithumb, Upbit, Korbit, and Coinone) disclose consumer information regarding Goyang-based individuals.

The province then compared its data with its own inventory of “chronic defaulters.” It concentrated on inhabitants of Goyang who had outstanding vehicle penalties of “KRW 1 million [approximately $696] or more.”

Goyang officials anticipate that the action will serve as an incentive for other crypto-holding citizens who have yet to settle outstanding traffic penalties.

The city stated that its decision would assist taxpayers in “realizing that there is no way to evade unpaid fines” by utilizing its ability to “trace and seize virtual assets.”

“We will persist in our efforts to monitor and collect taxes from serial tax defaulters through our collection strategies. We will make every effort to guarantee a taxation system that is equitable. The treatment of honest taxpayers should not be unjust.”

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