Assets Vanished During Routine Inspection
South Korean prosecutors have lost approximately 70 billion won ($48 million) in seized Bitcoin after falling victim to a phishing attack, according to an exclusive report by local outlet OhmyNews. The Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office discovered the loss during a routine inspection of confiscated assets, with internal estimates suggesting the theft occurred around mid-2025.
The incident reportedly happened when an official, attempting to check the balance of the seized assets, accessed a fraudulent website. Credentials for the wallet were stored on a USB device, a security practice that falls well below institutional custody standards. Once the official entered the credentials on the phishing site, the assets were drained.
Custody Failure Meets Regulatory Expansion
While the Prosecutors’ Office has officially stated they “cannot confirm the exact amount,” leaks to Chosun Biz and other domestic media peg the loss in the tens of billions of won. Authorities have launched an internal investigation to trace the funds, though recovery from such vectors is notoriously difficult.
The timing of the revelation is critical. It follows a January 9 Supreme Court ruling that explicitly designated crypto assets held on exchanges as seizable property under the Criminal Procedure Act. The gap between the state’s expanding legal authority to seize digital assets and its technical inability to secure them has drawn sharp criticism from local observers.
“We are conducting an investigation to track the circumstances of the loss and the whereabouts of the assets,” Prosecution Official (via Chosun Biz)
Bitcoin (BTC) traded at $89,700 (-2.5%) following the news, largely unaffected by the localized forfeiture event.
