National Tax Service Hit Twice by Seized Coin Theft... Police Pursuing Second Perpetrator

First Perpetrator Apprehended
Man in His 40s Booked

The National Tax Service recovered tens of billions of won worth of virtual assets (cryptocurrency coins) that had been seized but were stolen by a man in his 40s. However, the assets were leaked again to another individual, prompting the police to launch a pursuit. The identity of the second perpetrator remains unknown.

An official from the National Police Agency stated during a regular briefing held at the National Police Agency in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on March 3, "We are currently tracking the second perpetrator and are proceeding with the recovery of the frozen virtual assets."

Seoul Seodaemun-gu Police Agency. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

Previously, on February 26, the National Tax Service issued a press release announcing the seizure of four USB cold wallets containing the delinquent taxpayer's virtual assets, and inadvertently exposed the mnemonic code. A cold wallet is an offline cryptocurrency wallet, and with the mnemonic code, one can access the assets even without the physical wallet. The mnemonic code consists of a combination of 24 English words and functions similarly to a security card for a bank account. In fact, just one day after the National Tax Service released the information-on February 27-all 4 million PRTG coins stored in the cold wallet were leaked.

The Cyber Terror Response Division of the National Police Agency received a formal investigation request from the National Tax Service on February 27 and initiated a preliminary inquiry. The next day, the first perpetrator, a man in his 40s identified as Mr. A, turned himself in. Mr. A claimed to have returned the stolen coins to the original wallet, but within two hours and thirty minutes, the coins were transferred again to another wallet, prompting the police to track down the second perpetrator. The police have now escalated the case to a formal investigation on suspicion of computer-related fraud, but have not yet identified the second perpetrator. Mr. A, the first perpetrator, was apprehended on March 1 but was not taken into custody.

Some have argued that the first and second perpetrators might be the same person, but a police official dismissed this, stating, "That has not been confirmed." Regarding the exact scale of the damages, the official added, "Due to price fluctuations, the loss amount is still under investigation," and further explained, "This coin is not one that is frequently traded."

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