Stolen $21M in Bitcoin Mysteriously Returned to South Korean Officials
In an unexpected turn of events, South Korean government officials have mysteriously regained control of 320 Bitcoin that vanished during a criminal probe in 2025, as questions mount over law enforcement's cryptocurrency storage procedures.
Prosecutors in South Korea have confirmed the recovery of over 320 Bitcoin that vanished while under government control in 2025, with the digital assets being sent back to an official wallet earlier this week, according to reports from local news sources.
According to Thursday reports from The Chosun Daily, a local news publication, the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office announced it surprisingly regained possession of 320.88 Bitcoin (BTC) on Tuesday, valued at approximately $21.3 million based on current market prices. Officials confirmed to the publication that an anonymous cybercriminal sent the stolen cryptocurrency back to the government's digital wallet on Tuesday, which was subsequently moved to a protected domestic cryptocurrency exchange wallet that remains under official control.
The cryptocurrency disappeared from prosecutors' possession while they were conducting an investigation back in August 2025, according to statements from officials at that time. The missing assets were later identified by prosecutors while they were performing a standard audit of confiscated financial holdings on Jan. 23, as Cointelegraph previously documented. Officials attributed the security breach to a phishing operation that resulted in compromised access credentials.
Though the exact circumstances remain murky, prosecutors revealed they had distributed cooperation requests to domestic cryptocurrency exchanges asking them to lock the cybercriminal's wallet address, which made liquidating the stolen cryptocurrency challenging. Officials provided no explanation for the hacker's decision to return the Bitcoin.
Authorities to continue hunting for hacker
Officials have stated they will press forward with their investigation into the incident to determine the identity of the individual behind the theft and analyze associated phishing websites and harmful internet domains.
We will do our best to arrest the suspect regardless of the recovery of the bitcoin
Prosecutors' office told local outlet Digital Asset Works
Law enforcement agencies are simultaneously pursuing supplementary inquiries into those operating phishing websites and malicious web domains connected to the incident.
Custody failures fuel scrutiny
The recovery of the 320 Bitcoin occurred roughly one week following an incident where Seoul law enforcement experienced the disappearance of an additional 22 Bitcoin (valued at $1.5 million when it occurred) from their possession from a cold storage wallet maintained by officials, as Cointelegraph documented on Friday.
Officials reported that the 22 BTC was moved to an external location, despite the fact that the physical cold storage device was not physically taken.
These revelations have sparked intensified examination of law enforcement's capacity to properly secure seized Bitcoin holdings. The Gyeonggi Northern Provincial Police Agency has initiated a fresh investigation aimed at identifying the parties responsible for the Bitcoin movement.
The 22 Bitcoin in question were willingly turned over to officials throughout an investigation conducted in November 2021.