South Korea Unveils its Prosecution Crypto Crime Unit

The South Korean prosecution service has officially established a specialized unit dedicated to combating crypto scams and coin fraud, called the Joint Investigation Unit (JIU) for Virtual Asset Crimes, operated by the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office.

Initially launched as a temporary task force in 2023, the unit was created to address what authorities anticipated would be a brief surge in high-profile crypto-related fraud cases.

However, since its inception, the JIU has been overwhelmed with cases.

With the increasing adoption of cryptocurrency and the rise in crypto-related crimes in South Korea, the prosecution service decided last month to formalize the unit and grant it a degree of independence.