Korean bank employee embezzles 10 billion Korean won for cryptocurrency trading, already lost over 50%

According to South Korean media News1 and Hanguk Kyungjae, a Yuanta Bank employee suspected of embezzling approximately 10 billion Korean won since the beginning of this year has surrendered to the police, stating that the funds were invested in cryptocurrency and incurred losses exceeding 50%.

Bank Employee at YuLi Bank Surrenders to Authorities

The Western Police Station in Jinhae, South Korea, recently revealed that the loan monitoring department of YuLi Bank detected irregularities in the loan process through their monitoring system and requested an explanation from the employee involved.

The employee, in his 30s, voluntarily went to the police station on the 10th and confessed to the details of the crime. He had been working at a branch of YuLi Bank since the beginning of the year and had been embezzling loan funds through methods such as forging loan applications and deposit-related documents. The embezzled funds amounted to approximately 10 billion South Korean Won, around $7.25 million.

During the investigation, he admitted to investing the embezzled funds in cryptocurrency, and due to investment losses, approximately 6 billion South Korean Won, around $4.35 million, had been lost.

YuLi Bank Plans to Seek Compensation

YuLi Bank plans to seek compensation from the employee and will further strengthen internal audit and monitoring processes.

A representative from YuLi Bank stated:

Through a thorough investigation, we will identify the loopholes in the loan execution process to prevent similar incidents from happening again. At the same time, we will impose strict penalties on the employees involved and enhance the internal control awareness of all staff members.

South Korea has always had a strong culture of cryptocurrency trading. Previously, statistics showed that the trading volume of the top five cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea was close to surpassing the stock trading market.

Cryptocurrency Trading in South Korea Almost Surpassing Stock Market Trading

However, according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea, cryptocurrency investors in South Korea are still mainly individual retail investors with small investments. Up to 4.55 million people fall into the category of small investors, holding only cryptocurrencies worth less than $734.

South Korea's Financial Services Commission: Over 6.45 Million Cryptocurrency Users, with 70% Investing Less Than $800