South Korea Supreme Court Clarifies Seizure and Liquidation Rules for Virtual Assets

South Korea’s Supreme Court has revised the Civil Execution Rules to establish procedures for seizing and liquidating virtual assets, including Bitcoin, in enforcement cases, effective November 1. According to Foresight News, Yonhap News Agency reported that the rules distinguish between assets held by exchanges and those held in personal wallets. For exchange-held assets, authorities can seize the claim to transfer the assets and arrange for the exchange to sell them or move them to an enforcement officer’s account for liquidation. For assets in personal wallets, authorities can seize them directly and order their transfer to an account managed by an enforcement officer. Previously, in the absence of specific rules, such cases often relied on procedures for enforcing other property rights.