Cases concerning the theft of traditional funds to buy cryptocurrencies have surged significantly with the growing popularity and price of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and XRP, among others.
A similar incident has been reported in South Korea, where a government official was found stealing funds from the flood relief fund and donating to boost his crypto investment.
Known media outlets in the nation reported that the six-grade civil servants used the mayoral stamp to open a bank account in the name of Cheongju City Hall.
The mastermind of the illicit activity is behind bars
According to the information, the unnamed official was sentenced to 5 years in prison, and the court verdict was announced in December 2024. However, there are claims that the involved official is still getting pensions and other benefits.
It is worth noting that the governing body of the SK has the authority to reduce the benefits and allowance further; some even argue that the officials might face rigorous punishment.
Information from the board reads that the account opened by the official in the name of Cheongju City Hall was used to divert $341,930 in public funds. The affected funds were collectively donated, invested, or held by public organization funds and funds from other organizations.
The growing usage of crypto in South Korea is fueling illicit activities
Experts and known media outlets reported that South Korea-based hackers have continued to trouble the wider crypto market, and a recent hack of a known centralized crypto exchange lost more than $1.2 billion in funds.
Several estimates say that there are roughly 16 million crypto investors in SK, and the adoption in the nation is continuing to surge at a greater pace.
Data available on CoinMarketCap notes that Bitcoin is one of the most viewed cryptos in the South Korean market, with PI at second; XRP, Ethereum, and Solana are among the significant watched tokens and coins.
On December 03, 2024, Bloomberg reported that the significant market in South Korea is bigger than the nation’s stock market, and the number of traders is also comparatively higher than the traditional market.
Several times at the end of 2024, it was reported that the monthly trading volume of the traditional stock market was lower than the volume recorded in the digital asset market.
Despite the surging volatility in the wider crypto market, South Korea has remained a crypto-pro nation with back-to-back spikes in the users and holders of cryptocurrencies.
Crypto market price updates
As of writing, the crypto market capitalization was at $2.64 trillion, below the mark of $3 trillion, with a severe decline of 13% in the past seven days.
Similarly, Bitcoin fell below $82k, mirroring a decline of 12%; constant declines in the prices have dragged the price of BTC below its 20,50,100, and 200-day exponential moving average.
Compared to the fear and greed number of March 11, 2025, a slight improvement in the sentiments has been observed as when writing, the index was at 19, determining fear.
The intraday losers are Ethena, Hyperliquid, A; on, Aptos, and Pyth Network; on the other hand, the gainers in the same frame are Kaspa, Bittensor, Celestia, Ronin, and PI.
