South Korean Police First Establish "Dark Coin" Management Guidelines, Seized Crypto Assets Valued at Approximately 54.5 Billion KRW Over Past Five Years

Odaily News: The Korean National Police Agency recently completed a draft directive outlining compliance matters for each stage of crypto asset seizure. For the first time, it includes a management plan for software wallets (hot wallets) required to handle seized "Dark Coins." Due to their strong anonymity, Dark Coins are difficult to store in hardware wallets, and most major exchanges do not support their trading. Previously, frontline law enforcement agencies, lacking relevant regulations, could only custody Dark Coins using software wallets.

The crypto assets seized by Korean police over the past five years are estimated to be worth approximately 54.5 billion KRW at current market prices, including about 50.7 billion KRW in Bitcoin and about 1.8 billion KRW in Ethereum. The National Police Agency plans to complete the selection of a private custody institution within the first half of the year. Three previous tender attempts have failed, primarily because qualified domestic custody institutions are mostly small-to-medium-sized, and the police budget is only 83 million KRW.

Experts suggest establishing a government-led "public custody" system, entrusting seized crypto assets to professional trustees for unified management to prevent security incidents.