Court documents show that the crypto wallet of late founder of gaming giant Nexon, Kim Jung-ju, was hacked. More than $6.7 million in cryptocurrencies were lost as a result.
Crypto wallet of Kim Jung-ju, former CEO of Nexon, hacked
Kim Jung-ju, the founder of gaming giant Nexon, passed away last February at the age of 54. Nexon is one of the “three N”s in the South Korean gaming industry, along with NCSoft and Netmarble. In 2005, it moved its headquarters from Seoul to Tokyo. It went public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2011.
Now, suspicious transactions are revealed in the deceased founder’s exchange wallets. The hacking attack was carried out via SIM cards. According to local media outlets, one person managed to seize Kim’s mobile SIM card. He then used his personal information to withdraw Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other tokens from Jung-ju’s account on the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Korbit.
Meanwhile, Korbit reported that it has identified a number of suspicious transactions and is in contact with local police. According to the documents, the Seoul Eastern District Court convicted a 39-year-old man, whose identity remains anonymous, for illegally duplicating the SIM cards of 15 victims, including Kim’s, between May and June of this year. After Kim’s death in the US in February, the suspect hacked Kim’s account and stole cryptocurrencies 27 times. These include Bitcoin and Ethereum.
According to reports, the attackers have currently stolen more than $6.7 million in crypto from Kim Jung’s wallet. The court sentenced the arrested suspect to six years in prison and a fine of 600 million won. He also ordered the suspect to return 8.51 billion won.
Hacker got help from mafia
The court also ordered the hacker to reimburse a total of $6.7 million to the “three applicants” thought to be members of Kim’s estate. However, an official from the prosecutor’s office determined that the “damages” resulting from the raids on Kim’s wallets “have not yet been fully repaired”. The court also shared that the hacker was working with “gang” accomplices. However, he stated that these people informed the hacker about SIM cloning techniques.
Suffering from depression, Kim died suddenly while on vacation in Hawaii in February. He was the third richest person in South Korea at the time of his death and had an estimated net worth of approximately $10.7 billion.
Kim’s empire included South Korean gaming giant Nexon, which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. A passionate crypto advocate, Kim also oversaw the acquisition of Korbit. The platform is South Korea’s first crypto exchange and is still one of the largest. It also acquired Europe’s oldest crypto platform Bitstamp. cryptocoin.comAs we have reported, his company took important steps for cryptocurrencies in 2021.