South Korean Police Plan First Privacy Coin Seizure Guidelines to Strengthen Digital Asset Governance

The Korean National Police Agency has lacked consistent standards for transferring, storing and managing privacy coins, which offer enhanced anonymity, and software wallets seized in virtual asset cases. The resulting gaps have exposed weaknesses in custody procedures. The move to establish dedicated guidelines for the first time reflects the expansion of law enforcement evidence management from physical assets to digital asset security governance.

The Korean National Police Agency is drafting its first rules for managing seized privacy coins and software wallets. According to related reports, the estimated value of virtual assets seized by police over the past five years totaled 54.5 billion won. Police also plan to select a specialist private-sector custodian in the first half of 2026 to strengthen asset protection and accountability after seizures.