South Korean Prosecutors Investigate $47.7 Million Bitcoin Theft from Seized Assets

South Korean prosecutors have opened an investigation after discovering that Bitcoin valued at roughly $47.7 million vanished from their custody of seized criminal assets.

Officials at the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office identified the missing cryptocurrency during a standard review of confiscated financial holdings, according to local media reports. The theft allegedly occurred when credentials were compromised through external channels, with authorities attributing the breach to a phishing scheme that targeted an agency employee who unknowingly visited a fraudulent website.

Prosecutors have declined to reveal specific details about the loss amount or seizure timeline while the investigation remains active. "We are conducting an investigation to track the circumstances and whereabouts of the seized items," a prosecution representative stated, declining to confirm further particulars.

The incident highlights ongoing security challenges as law enforcement agencies worldwide accumulate substantial cryptocurrency holdings from criminal cases. The custody methods employed by these agencies are typically not made public.

This breach follows South Korean customs officials' recent dismantling of a significant cryptocurrency laundering operation earlier this week. Globally, enforcement agencies hold billions in digital assets, including the U.S. Secret Service's record $225 million crypto seizure announced last June, and the UK's 2018 confiscation of $6.4 billion in Bitcoin from fraud perpetrators.