South Korean National Tax Service Leak Exposes Crypto Wallet Seed Phrase

The South Korean government's National Tax Service has faced criticism after exposing a crypto wallet seed phrase in an official press release, leading to the theft of 4 million PRTG tokens worth approximately $4.8 million.

The incident occurred when the agency published a press release about enforcement actions against tax delinquents, which included an unmasked image of a Ledger cold wallet and a sheet displaying the full seed phrase. Local media outlets reported that officials failed to blur the sensitive information, allowing unknown actors to access the exposed phrase.

Blockchain analysts linked the exposed phrase to an Ether address holding 4 million PRTG tokens, with onchain records showing three inbound transfers totaling 4 million PRTG into the address, followed by a single outbound transfer sending exactly 4 million PRTG to another wallet.

Associate professor Jaewoo Cho of Hansung University's Blockchain Research Center reviewed the flows and confirmed the loss, stating that 'fortunately, the other exposed mnemonics do not seem likely to cause any major issues.' However, he noted that the stolen tokens were difficult to cash out, and the actual damage is at a negligible level.