South Korea’s tax office leaks wallet seed and loses $4.8M in seized tokens

South Korea’s National Tax Service reportedly published a wallet seed phrase in a press release, and tokens worth $4.8 million were swiftly drained in the latest custody blunder for the authorities.

South Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS) accidentally exposed a crypto wallet seed phrase in an official press release on Thursday, leading to a loss of 4 million PRTG  (Pre‑Retogeum) tokens worth about $4.8 million from the address, according to local media reports.

According to multiple Korean media reports on local sites Naver, Chosun and others, the press release related to the National Tax Service’s enforcement campaign against tax delinquents and seizures that the authorities had carried out. The release reportedly included an image of a Ledger cold wallet and a sheet of paper showing the wallet’s full mnemonic phrase without any blur or masking.

Blockchain researchers later identified an Ether (ETH) address linked to the leaked phrase that briefly held the 4 million PRTG tokens before the entire balance was transferred out. 

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