South Korea now officially sees cryptocurrency as a marriage asset that can be split up during a divorce. A top South Korean law company recently revealed that digital currencies like Bitcoin are legally considered intangible assets. This means that when a couple ends their marriage, they can split their digital assets.
Article 839-2 of the South Korean Civil Act says that either spouse can ask for a split of all the assets the couple has together. This now includes digital currencies. This means that coins bought during a marriage are treated the same way as other kinds of property, like real land or bank accounts.
In 2018, the South Korean Supreme Court made a decision that said virtual goods have value in the real world. Because of this, any coins owned by either partner during the marriage are part of the joint property and can be split.
If a spouse knows that their partner has crypto assets, the court can start an investigation to find out how much the assets are worth. Blockchain technology keeps a permanent record of all transactions. This makes it easier to keep track of crypto investments than it is to keep track of traditional financial assets. Because the technology can’t change or delete transactions, it’s hard to hide cryptocurrency assets while a divorce is going on.
Different couples who are getting a divorce can choose to either sell their cryptocurrency stocks or split the tokens between themselves. But because digital currencies are so volatile, each choice has its own risks and things to think about.
There are a lot more divorces involving digital assets because cryptocurrencies are becoming more important in global financial systems. In a famous case in New York, for example, a wife found out that her husband had not told her about his over-$500,000 worth of Bitcoin stocks while they were getting divorced. This situation shows how hard it is getting to divide digital assets in divorce cases around the world.
South Korea’s choice to include cryptocurrency in divorce cases shows how open-minded the country is about digital assets. It also makes the country a leader in dealing with the legal issues that come up because of the growing use of cryptocurrency in personal finance.
