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Collection amount 100 times in 3 years...Leakage incidents at agencies like police and prosecution offices also follow
Store in 'cold wallet' institutional wallet immediately upon acquisition...Designate dedicated organization, conduct mock drills too
The government is introducing a system to systematically manage public sector virtual assets worth 78 billion won that it holds.
This is a plan to create specific internal regulations from acquisition to storage, inspection, and post-response to prevent the recent series of virtual asset leakage incidents at the National Tax Service and other agencies.
On the 10th, the government approved the 'Public Sector Virtual Asset Holding and Management System Improvement Plan' containing these details at the Emergency Economic Headquarters Meeting and Economic Ministers' Meeting, presided over by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol at the Seoul Government Complex.
As of the 6th, the central government holds a total of 78 billion won in virtual assets through seizure and attachment during investigation and tax collection processes. By agency, the order is National Tax Service (52.1 billion won), Prosecutor's Office (23.4 billion won), National Police Agency (2.2 billion won), and Korea Customs Service (0.3 billion won). Public institutions hold 360 million won in virtual assets received as donations.
The government explained that these assets are amounts temporarily stored before final disposition such as forfeiture or sale, or immediately after receipt before being converted to cash, and the overall scale is fluid depending on the situation.
As citizens' virtual asset holdings increase, the government's acquisition volume is also rapidly rising. The amount of virtual assets forcibly collected last year was 63.9 billion won, more than 100 times higher than in 2022 (0.6 billion won).
However, leakage incidents are recurring due to agencies' lack of awareness of virtual asset characteristics and negligence in management.
In February, the National Tax Service announced through a press release that a virtual asset recovery phrase (mnemonic code) was leaked, resulting in the theft of 4 million PRTG, estimated to be worth several million won.
In the same month, the Gangnam Police Station belatedly discovered that 22 Bitcoins, worth 2.1 billion won, which were stored on a USB drive after seizure, had been leaked externally.
In August of last year, the Gwangju District Prosecutor's Office lost 320 Bitcoins, worth 30 billion won, by accessing a phishing site during a work handover.
In response, the government decided to activate a management system covering all stages from acquisition to post-response.
First, virtual assets seized or attached from personal wallets, etc., must be immediately transferred and stored in institutional wallets, such as 'cold wallets,' where internet connection is blocked on site. Important information such as private keys and recovery phrases issued when creating institutional wallets must be managed by two or more people in a divided manner.
For assets held by exchanges, accounts will be immediately frozen with the cooperation of the service provider, and donated assets will be disposed of immediately upon receipt to mitigate risk.
Physical control devices such as vaults and closed-circuit (CC) TVs will be installed at storage locations, and access records will be periodically checked.
In the event of a leakage incident, immediate emergency measures will be taken, such as creating a new wallet and transferring remaining assets.
If the scale of damage exceeds a certain standard or external hacking is confirmed, the National Intelligence Service, National Police Agency, and Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) must be immediately notified, and reports must be made to the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Interior and Safety.
Accidents caused by violations of regulations will result in measures against those involved, including criminal charges and disciplinary actions.
Each agency will designate a dedicated management organization and personnel, and conduct employee training and mock drills for leakage response at least once a year.
These guidelines will be distributed to each ministry, local government, and public institution starting on the 10th and will be implemented immediately.
If necessary, detailed guidelines tailored to the situation of each agency will be established.
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