South Korea’s Tax Agency Loses $4.8M to a Paper Leak – Oops!

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A single sheet of paper became the most expensive typo in crypto history. South Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS), in its quest to flex its anti-tax-dodging muscles, accidentally published a press release that read like a textbook example of how not to handle cryptocurrency. Somewhere between the photoshoot and the printer, a full wallet seed phrase slipped into the public eye-unblurred, unmasked, and unapologetically exposed.

By the time someone noticed, $4.8 million had already been siphoned out faster than a government employee’s patience at a coffee machine.

One Photo, One Mistake, Millions Gone

The press release featured a Ledger hardware wallet chilling next to a handwritten sheet containing its entire mnemonic phrase-the digital universe’s version of a skeleton key. No redactions. No “redacted for your safety.” Just a glorious, unfiltered invitation to chaos. According to Korean media (because nothing says “trust” like quoting Naver and Chosun), this was part of an NTS campaign to show off their crypto-crushing prowess. Instead, they handed the keys to the kingdom to anyone with a magnifying glass.

What was meant to be a PR win became a how-to guide for hackers. The wallet’s transaction history tells a story: 4 million PRTG tokens in, then a single, clean sweep to another address. Like a thief who left no fingerprints, just a cryptic note: “Thanks for the snacks.”

Researcher Says Actual Losses May Be Smaller Than They Appear

Enter Associate Professor Jaewoo Cho of Hansung University’s Blockchain Research Center, crypto’s reluctant hero. On X, he confirmed the theft: 4 million PRTG tokens (about $4.8 million) vanished via the leaked mnemonic. His tweet? A masterclass in bureaucratic despair.

국세청에서 보도자료로 유출(공개)한 니모닉에서 10시간 전에 PRTG 토큰 400만 개, 약 480만 달러어치가 탈취된 것을 확인했습니다.

– 조재우(Jaewoo Cho) (@clayop) February 27, 2026

Cho also checked other wallets in the photo and found them “low risk”-a silver lining if you’re a government agency with a knack for self-sabotage. He noted that PRTG’s liquidity problem might mean the real damage is less than the headline suggests. Still, he optimistically hopes this incident pushes South Korea to finally build proper crypto custody systems. Fingers crossed.

The NTS has yet to respond. We’re guessing they’re still Googling “how to delete a press release.”

A Pattern Of Custody Problems In South Korea

This isn’t the first time South Korean authorities have turned crypto into a farce. In February 2026, police discovered 22 Bitcoin-seized during a 2021 hack-had vanished from a cold wallet in a Gangnam police station vault. Turns out, the mnemonic phrase was never properly secured. Two suspects were arrested for using it to siphon $1.4 million. A twofer of incompetence: lost crypto, lost face.

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2026-02-28 20:12