South Korean Tax Agency Accidentally Exposes Mnemonic Phrase in Press Release, Resulting in $4.8M Loss

KuCoinFlash

Release Time: 02/27/2026 11:47:12

Summary

On February 26, South Korea’s National Tax Service accidentally exposed a cryptocurrency wallet’s mnemonic phrase in a press release. The unredacted photo displayed a Ledger device and a handwritten recovery phrase. On-chain monitoring tracked the theft of approximately $4.8 million in assets. On February 27, 4 million PRTG tokens were transferred to an anonymous address. Experts condemned the agency for inadequate security practices, labeling the loss of public funds a major failure. While inflation data remains a key concern for crypto investors, this incident underscores a more immediate risk: human error.

Odaily Planet Daily report: On February 26, the Korean National Tax Service inadvertently leaked the mnemonic phrase for a cryptocurrency hardware wallet in a press release regarding the seizure of assets from high-tax-defaulting individuals. The press release displayed an unblurred photo showing a Ledger wallet alongside a handwritten mnemonic phrase.

According to data monitored by the Blockchain Research Institute at Star University and Onchain, approximately $4.8 million (equivalent to about 6.4 billion KRW) in assets are suspected to have been stolen by hackers. On-chain data shows that early on the 27th, 4 million PRTG tokens from the related wallet were transferred to an anonymous address. Experts criticized the Korean tax authority for its fundamental lack of cybersecurity awareness, which directly led to significant losses of national assets.

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