On Feb. 26, the National Tax Service emphasized that it has requested an investigation from the Korean National Police Agency and is making every effort to recover the leaked virtual assets in connection with the leak of a delinquent taxpayer's virtual asset information.
On the 1st, the National Tax Service stated accordingly through a press reference titled "We deeply apologize to the public for the virtual asset leak incident."
The National Tax Service said, "This incident occurred because, in an effort to deliver more vivid information to the public, we failed to recognize that sensitive virtual asset information was included and carelessly provided the original photo to the media," adding, "It is unquestionably the National Tax Service's fault."
It went on to explain, "As soon as we confirmed that coins were leaked from the delinquent taxpayer's wallet, the National Tax Service traced the leak route through its own virtual asset tracking program and requested an investigation from the Korean National Police Agency, and we are making every effort to recover the leaked virtual assets."
The National Tax Service also added, "Taking this incident as an opportunity, we will conduct an external diagnosis of the overall security system, strengthen internal controls such as prior review to prevent sensitive information from being leaked when released externally, comprehensively overhaul the manual for all processes of seizing, storing, and selling virtual assets, and strengthen job and security training for employees, thereby preparing thorough measures to prevent recurrence and pushing them forward swiftly."
On the same day, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Koo Yun-cheol also said on social media X (formerly Twitter) that, in connection with the recent leak of digital asset information at the National Tax Service, the government will, together with related agencies such as the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), inspect the status and management of digital assets held and managed by the government and public institutions through seizures from delinquent taxpayers, and promptly prepare and implement measures to prevent recurrence, including strengthening digital asset security management.
He added, "For reference, aside from those obtained in the course of law enforcement such as seizures, the government does not hold digital assets."
Meanwhile, the Cyber Terror Response Division of the Korean National Police Agency was reportedly verifying the facts after receiving an online report the previous day from someone claiming to have stolen coins seized by the National Tax Service.
Earlier, on the 26th, while announcing the seizure of a delinquent taxpayer's "cold wallet" (offline electronic wallet) containing virtual assets, the National Tax Service mistakenly exposed the mnemonic code. Afterward, allegations were raised that about 6.9 billion won worth of virtual assets were stolen from the wallet. On the 27th, the police received a request for investigation from the National Tax Service and have been conducting a pre-booking inquiry (preliminary investigation).
The National Tax Service explained that the leaked coins are traded only on a single exchange (MEXC), and because the transaction volume is extremely low, the structure causes prices to plummet in the event of large-scale trading, so the actual damage is minimal. It also said that the moment the leaked coins are deposited into an exchange, the account is frozen, and trading is blocked through the virtual asset company's blacklist registration.