S. Korea tax agency leaked crypto master key — seized tokens stolen twice

South Korea’s National Tax Service leaked a cold-storage mnemonic during a February 26 press conference, exposing a 24-word master key that unlocks seized wallets. The error led to two thefts of 4 million PRTG tokens (approx. $4.8 million) within 24 hours, raising questions about the government’s ability to safeguard confiscated digital assets.

Blockchain data and police reports show an individual used the exposed code to empty the wallet early on February 27. That person later contacted police and media, confessing he took the tokens "like picking up waste paper" and said he returned the full 4 million PRTG to the NTS wallet.

Two hours after the return, a separate actor transferred the entire balance to a wallet flagged for "fake phishing" activities. Security experts faulted the NTS for not moving the funds to a secure wallet after the first breach, which allowed the second theft.

South Korea

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