Korean tax official calls for criminal procedure law revision on self-custodied crypto seizure

Amending the Criminal Procedure Act is necessary to enable the seizure of self-custodied virtual assets, Digital Asset reported, citing a legislative proposal from a working-level official at South Korea’s National Tax Service. According to the outlet, Jang Hee-won, a team leader at the National Tax Service, and three other authors said in a paper published in June that existing legal interpretations of Article 120 of the Criminal Procedure Act, which defines the execution and disposition of search and seizure warrants, may prevent self-custodied digital assets from being properly seized if applied without change. They argued that when a suspect or owner holds access tools such as a private key, a warrant should specify the type and amount of digital assets to be seized, the confirmed address, the receiving address, the transfer method, and the custody method after transfer. They also proposed transferring the assets to an address jointly managed by the court and investigative authorities, rather than to a wallet controlled by a single agency, citing theft and other risks.