South Korea’s Supreme Court formalizes crypto asset seizure rules

Supreme Court Rule No. 3280 sets out how creditors can freeze, seize, and sell a debtor's crypto in civil cases, starting November 1, 2026 South Korea’s Supreme Court has written down how courts can seize and sell crypto when someone fails to pay a civil debt. The new framework, Supreme Court Rule No. 3280, was promulgated on October 12, 2026, and takes effect on November 1, 2026. What the new rule covers The rule addresses two kinds of holdings. The first is crypto parked on exchanges, which the framework treats as a withdrawal claim the debtor holds against a custodian such as Upbit or Bithumb. That framing matters. When you keep coins on an exchange, you don’t hold them directly, legally speaking. You hold a right to ask the exchange to send them to you, and that right is what the court attaches. Under the rule, courts can issue immediate attachment orders against those withdrawal claims and bar the debtor from moving the assets. Custodians must disclose the debtor’s holdings and claims within one week of a court order. The second category is self-custodied crypto, meaning coins a person controls through their own private keys rather than through a platform. The rule covers thes...