South Korea’s Supreme Court to Implement New Civil Enforcement Rules for Virtual Assets on October 1

South Korea’s Supreme Court has issued a legislative notice for amendments to parts of the Civil Execution Rules that would establish procedures for civil compulsory enforcement involving virtual assets, with the rules set to take effect on October 1 after a public comment period. According to ChainCatcher, the notice dated July 2 covers enforcement and liquidation of claims to transfer digital assets, as well as enforcement and liquidation of the digital assets themselves. Under the proposed framework, once a court seizure order takes effect, third-party debtors would be prohibited from transferring assets to the debtor, and the debtor would be barred from disposing of the relevant rights. A creditor who has seized the claim could ask the court to require the third-party debtor to state whether it acknowledges the claim and to provide details. Seized assets could be liquidated through a transfer order or a sale order. Sales could be conducted by commissioning a virtual asset service provider, transferring assets to an enforcement officer’s account for sale, or exchanging them into digital assets that are easier to liquidate before selling. For digital assets with insufficient liquidity, the rules would allow conversion into other digital assets for liquidation. The Supreme Court’s administrative office is collecting public opinions through August 11.