The National Tax Service of South Korea plans to select a professional custodial company in the first half of the year to manage seized virtual assets.

Techub News reports, according to ZDNet, the South Korean National Tax Service plans to select a private custody company within the first half of the year and entrust it with managing seized virtual assets. Previously, the National Tax Service leaked a mnemonic phrase when announcing the results of an on-site search of a delinquent taxpayer, leading to the theft of seized virtual assets on two occasions. Consequently, it decided to shift from self-custody of assets to entrusting professional custody companies. The National Tax Service will screen custody companies based on criteria such as security requirements, company size, and whether they are insured under the "Virtual Asset User Protection Act." The related work is handled by the "Virtual Asset Management System Upgrade Task Force" established on the 11th of this month. This task force also plans to improve the entire process manual for seizure, custody, and sale, and expand professional training. Furthermore, the National Tax Service is preparing to newly establish a "Digital Asset Management Division" to uniformly handle the seizure, custody, sale, and taxation of virtual assets. The head of the task force stated that after listening to expert opinions, the plan will be implemented within the first half of the year.