South Korea Supreme Court rules Bitcoin on exchanges is seizable property in criminal cases

On December 2025, South Korea’s Supreme Court ruled that Bitcoin held on cryptocurrency exchanges can be seized in criminal investigations, after reviewing a money laundering case involving 55.6 BTC valued at about $413,000. The court held that seizure under the Criminal Procedure Act covers both physical objects and electronic information, confirming Bitcoin’s status as seizable virtual property and aligning South Korea with other jurisdictions that now recognize digital assets as property.