The post South Korea Supreme Court Confirms Bitcoin Held on Exchanges Is Seizable Under Law appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

The post South Korea Supreme Court Confirms Bitcoin Held on Exchanges Is Seizable Under Law appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News South Korea’s Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling that removes lingering legal uncertainty around cryptocurrencies held on centralized exchanges. In a landmark judgment, the court confirmed that Bitcoin stored in exchange accounts can be lawfully seized under the Criminal Procedure Act, firmly placing digital assets within the scope of criminal enforcement. This decision strengthens the legal footing for investigators handling crypto-related crimes and reflects South Korea’s increasingly mature approach to regulating digital assets in a country where crypto adoption is already widespread. The Case That Triggered the Ruling As per the report, the ruling stems from a money laundering investigation dating back to 2020. At the time, police seized 55.6 Bitcoin, worth roughly 600 million Korean won, from an exchange account belonging to an individual identified as Mr. A. The seizure was carried out as part of an ongoing criminal probe. Mr. A later challenged the action, arguing that Bitcoin held on an exchange could not be seized because it is not a physical object, as traditionally required under Article 106 of the Criminal Procedure Act. After lower courts rejected this claim, the case reached the Supreme Court for final review. Why the Court Rejected the Appeal In its ruling, the Supreme Court made it clear that seizure laws are not limited to tangible items. The court stated that assets subject to seizure include electronic information and digital representations of value, not just physical property. The judges emphasized that Bitcoin has clear economic value and can be independently managed, transferred, and controlled by its owner, even when held on an exchange. Because users retain effective control over their assets through account access and private key systems, the court…

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Filed under: News - @ January 9, 2026 11:00 am