🚨 Crypto, espionage, and national security — South Korea draws a hard line 🇰🇷⚖️
South Korea’s Supreme Court has upheld a 4-year prison sentence for a crypto exchange employee involved in a spy operation linked to North Korean hackers 🕵️♂️💻.
🔍 According to investigators:
The employee helped hackers recruit a South Korean army captain
Military secrets were to be exchanged for Bitcoin
💰 The employee received $487,000 in BTC
💸 The officer was paid $33,500 in BTC
⚠️ Authorities ruled this as a direct violation of the National Security Act, calling it a threat to state security.
📌 Even more concerning:
Hackers reportedly instructed the employee to provide:
⌚ a “watch-shaped device”
💾 a malicious USB
— both intended to gain remote access to US–South Korea command systems.
The attempt failed, but the intent was clear.
🔒 The army captain was previously sentenced to 10 years in prison under military secrecy laws.
🧠 Market takeaway:
Crypto isn’t just finance anymore — it’s infrastructure.
And when it intersects with geopolitics, regulation stops being theoretical.
