South Korea is approaching an Aug. 11 public-comment deadline on proposed crypto seizure rules that would require exchanges and other virtual asset service providers to disclose customer holdings within one week of receiving a court order. The Supreme Court’s draft amendments to the Civil Execution Rules would standardize how creditors freeze, identify and liquidate virtual assets held by debtors, extending the country’s broader crypto rulebook into civil debt enforcement. If finalized on the current schedule, the measures are expected to take effect on Oct. 1, leaving service providers roughly seven weeks after consultations close to prepare. For assets held with a custodian, courts could attach a debtor’s right to receive the assets, block transfers to the debtor, and prevent the debtor from disposing of that claim. Providers could then be ordered to confirm whether they recognize the claim, disclose the type and quantity of assets, and list any competing seizures, provisional orders or priority rights. The framework may have wide practical impact in one of the world’s most retail-heavy crypto markets: as of February 2025, 16.29 million people held accounts at South Korea’s five largest exchanges, about 32% of the population, exceeding the roughly 14.2 million people who held domestic listed stocks at the end of 2024. Once assets are identified and frozen, courts could assign them to creditors or order liquidation, including sales by a virtual asset service provider or transfers to an enforcement officer’s account. Cases involving self-custodied crypto remain more difficult because control of the private key (secret code controlling coins) can limit effective seizure until the assets are actually transferred.