South Korea’s National Police Agency has begun experimenting with a pilot program that involves confiscation of virtual assets for non-payment of fines. According to a report in a local news outlet, the pilot is being tested to facilitate digital collection of fines for dues and negligence through the local Gunpo police station. The report said that the police recently seized and collected virtual currency worth KRW 50 million (approximately Rs 30.2 lakh) owned by a lawless person whose salary and deposits amounted to approximately KRW 2.5 million (approximately Rs 1.51 lakh). Lakh).
Gunpo, a city of about 275,000 in South Korea’s northwestern Gyeonggi province, was selected by the national government to execute the pilot program in 2022. a recent report JoongBoo told the Ilbo news outlet that the program was a way to collect criminal funds in a “rude” or contactless fashion.
The program appears to have been successful through at least the first half of 2022, with Gunpo Police achieving an 88 percent collection rate on traffic fines amounting to $668,000 (approximately Rs 5.3 crore), allowing the city to exceed its target. got the speed to do it. To pursue traffic fines of $759,000 (approximately Rs.6.04 crore) by the end of the year.
In a translated statement, the head of the Gunpo police station, Kwak Kyung-ho, said that the aim is not to make loyal payers feel deprived amid the pandemic, but on the contrary, the police intend to toughen collections from criminals.
This development also comes after the seizure of around $50 million (approximately Rs 398 crore) in cryptocurrency from an earlier 12,000 people. suspicion of tax evasion (via FT) In South Korea. In Japan too, authorities proposed confiscation of illegally acquired crypto assets, thereby gaining more power over digital wallets.
At the same time, reports also suggest that the South Korean financial regulator may rethink its existing legislation on digital currencies after announcing the launch of the first Digital Asset Committee in June. A week after the watchdog vowed to address regulatory uncertainty in South Korea’s crypto industry, the Financial Services Commission on Wednesday also launched a joint working group to establish a framework for digital assets.
