"Rolex at 35 Million Won, Hermes Birkin at 14 Million Won"... Seized Luxury Goods from Tax Delinquents Flood Auction Listings

Seoul Auction to Hold Special Auction of NTS-Seized Assets on Nov. 14
99 Lots, Including Luxury Watches, Bags and Gold Bars, to Go Under the Hammer
Combined Starting Bids Total 344.7 Million Won; Online and On-Site Auctions to Be Held Separately

A Rolex watch with a starting bid of 35 million won and a Hermes Birkin bag starting at 14 million won will go up for auction. A total of 99 items seized from high-value tax delinquents, including Chanel bags, luxury jewelry, gold bars, and high-end bicycles, will be sold at public auction. The proceeds will be used to collect unpaid taxes and recover funds for the state.

Luxury watches, bags, and jewelry featured in the National Tax Service’s special auction of seized assets, to be held by Seoul Auction on the 14th. Clockwise from the upper left: Rolex Day-Date (starting bid: 35 million won), Chanel J12 watch (2 million won), Hermès Birkin 25 (14 million won), Van Cleef & Arpels Vintage Alhambra earrings (2 million won), Rolex Datejust (5 million won), and Chanel Classic Flap Bag (3 million won). Seized from high-value tax delinquents, a total of 99 items will be offered at the auction. Seoul Auction

Seoul Auction said on November 10 that it will hold a special auction of assets seized by the National Tax Service as part of the "2026 AUCTION SHOW," taking place on November 14 at its Gangnam Center in Seoul. The auction will feature 99 lots, with a combined starting bid of approximately 344.7 million won. It will be divided into an online auction of 81 items at 2 p.m. and an on-site auction of 18 items at 4 p.m.

The item with the highest starting bid is a Rolex "Day-Date" watch. This automatic watch has a bright blue dial and displays the day and date; bidding starts at 35 million won. A Rolex "Datejust" starts at 5 million won, while Cartier "Panthere" and "Ballon Bleu" watches each start at 3 million won.

Luxury bags are also drawing attention. The Hermes "Birkin 25," made in 2025, has a starting bid of 14 million won, while the "Kelly 25" starts at 12 million won. A Chanel "Large Classic Double Flap Bag," in black leather with gold-tone hardware, starts at 3 million won. Two Chanel "Coco Crush" rings in 18-karat gold and diamonds will each be offered with a starting bid of 8 million won.

The online auction will also feature a range of seized assets, including gold, liquor, and bicycles. Six 24-karat gold bars, weighing 224.8 grams in total, have a combined starting bid of 20 million won. An Hermes "Birkin 30" starts at 6 million won, while a Van Cleef & Arpels Vintage Alhambra pendant necklace starts at 1 million won.

A set of three bottles of Japanese whisky Yamazaki and a set of two bottles of Ballantine's 30-year-old whisky have starting bids of 0 won. Three bottles of Yamazaki 18-year-old whisky start at 3 million won, while a set of five bottles of Hibiki whisky starts at 2 million won. The high-end Brompton "T Line Explore - Mid" folding bicycle starts at 4.5 million won, and two high-end Specialized mountain bikes will each be offered with a starting bid of 5 million won.

Six seized artworks will also be auctioned separately. Seoul Auction will present works by Josef Albers, Yoshitomo Nara, Jean-Michel Othoniel, and Tomás Saraceno at its Evening Sale on November 23 and Contemporary Day Sale on November 24. Josef Albers' 1969 work "Homage to the Square" has a low estimate of 350 million won, while Yoshitomo Nara's three-dimensional sculpture "The Puff Marshies Mini" is estimated at 100 million won. The six artworks will be auctioned separately from the 99 items going under the hammer on November 14.

Seoul Auction is a specialized sales agency designated by the National Tax Service for artworks and other assets, and handles the appraisal and public sale of seized property on its behalf. At a special auction held by the National Tax Service last March, all 76 items on offer were sold, bringing the total hammer price to 1.2 billion won, about 6.1 times the combined starting bids of 197 million won.

Eighteen of the featured luxury items in this auction can be bid on only in person, with no online bidding available. The preview of the lots will take place from November 11 to 14 on the first basement level of Seoul Auction's Gangnam Center. Viewing hours are from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The on-site auction will be held at 4 p.m. on November 14 in the auction room on the building's fifth basement level.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.