Police Recover Hacking Cryptocurrency Worth 4.5 Billion Won from Foreign Exchange... First Domestic Case

2018 Domestic Exchange Hacking Incident
Tracking Cryptocurrency Flow, Confirming Central and South American Exchanges
Recovery of 1360 Ethereum

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The police have succeeded in recovering virtual currency worth 4.5 billion won stolen through hacking from an overseas exchange. This is the first case in which an investigative agency has recovered virtual currency.

The National Police Agency’s National Investigation Headquarters announced on the 7th that they recovered 1,360 Ethereum stolen through hacking from a virtual currency exchange located in Latin America.

According to the police, around mid-2018, an unidentified hacker infiltrated the server of domestic virtual currency exchange company A, stealing 11 types of virtual currencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum, worth approximately 50 billion won at the time.

The police confirmed that the stolen virtual currencies had been transferred overseas and have been tracking the suspects through international cooperation with investigative agencies in five countries. They have continuously analyzed the flow of the stolen virtual currencies by utilizing virtual currency tracking programs and collaborating with exchanges.

The virtual currencies recovered this time include the stolen Ethereum and some Ethereum-based virtual currencies. These virtual currencies were stored at virtual currency exchange B in Latin America after passing through several overseas exchanges immediately following the theft from exchange A.

The police discovered this in January of this year and began discussions with the exchange regarding repatriation to Korea. The key issues were that this was the first time an investigative agency recovered hacked virtual currencies from an overseas exchange and whether the virtual currencies stored at exchange B were the same as those stolen from exchange A.

After six months of consultations and persuasion with the exchange’s lawyers and domestic related agencies, the police succeeded in receiving 1,360 Ethereum from exchange B to an electronic wallet managed by the Cyber Crime Investigation Division of the National Police Agency at around 9 a.m. on the 1st. These virtual currencies will be returned to the victims in accordance with relevant procedures and regulations.

A police official stated, "We plan to continue to respond strictly to virtual currency hacking crimes in cooperation with domestic related agencies and overseas investigative agencies. We will do our best to protect victims by promoting the recovery of stolen virtual currencies still overseas through international cooperation."