South Korea’s highest court wants to make it official: your crypto can be seized in a lawsuit. The Supreme Court has proposed amendments to the country’s Civil Execution Rules that would create standardized procedures for seizing and liquidating digital assets during civil litigation.
The proposed rules are open for public comment until August 11, 2026, with an expected effective date of October 1, 2026.
What the amendments actually do
The proposed amendments lay out formal processes for how courts can seize digital assets held on exchanges during civil enforcement actions. Once a seizure order is in place, the rules would prohibit debtors from disposing of the targeted crypto. Third-party transfers would also be blocked.
The amendments also address how seized crypto gets converted into cash. Courts would be able to facilitate sales through virtual asset operators, essentially using exchanges as the mechanism to liquidate holdings. The proposed rules would allow for converting less liquid tokens into Bitcoin via exchanges before final liquidation.
