Woman in South Korea Gets 2 Years in Prison for $500,000 Crypto Theft from Boyfriend

A South Korean woman in her 40s has been sentenced to two years in prison for stealing approximately 683 million won (about $488,000) in digital assets from her boyfriend while he slept.

The incident occurred at around 11.50pm on 5 January at the boyfriend’s home in Jeju City.

According to authorities, the woman had memorised his login credentials in advance, intending to exploit them once he fell asleep.

She used his mobile phone to access his banking apps and cryptocurrency exchanges, transferring the funds into her personal accounts.

In addition to the digital assets, she also stole 2 million won (around $1,430) in cash, leading to an additional embezzlement conviction.

Following the theft, the woman fled Jeju Island and boarded a flight to another part of the country, allegedly planning to use the stolen funds to start a new life.

However, her escape was short-lived. She was located by police at a hotel near Gumi in North Gyeongsang Province and promptly arrested.

She was then transferred back to Jeju City to face prosecution.

During the trial, prosecutors withheld her identity.

The woman admitted to the crimes, confirming she acted while her boyfriend was asleep and that the theft was premeditated.

She told the court she had returned most of the stolen funds, claiming that only 21.9 million won (approximately $15,000) remained unpaid.

Expressing remorse, she appealed for leniency, citing her partial repayment and willingness to cooperate with the investigation.

Spike in Crypto Offenses Worries Investors and Regulators

South Korean media reports that the Jeju Provincial Court denied the defendant’s request for leniency, citing her prior fraud convictions and the significant amount of unrecovered funds.

Despite appeals from her legal team—who emphasized her remorse and partial repayment—the court ruled that her history as a repeat offender outweighed any mitigating factors.

The judge noted that the woman had already been granted second chances in the past, including one fraud case still pending trial at the time she stole from her boyfriend.

This pattern, the court concluded, made further leniency unjustifiable.

She was sentenced to two years in prison, adding yet another chapter to the growing list of crypto-related crimes in Jeju and beyond.

The case reflects a concerning trend: as peer-to-peer crypto transactions increase, so do incidents of theft, violence, and fraud.

In January alone, a man in his 30s was fatally stabbed in a Jeju hotel after attending a private crypto meeting.

That same month, four Chinese nationals were arrested for stealing $63,000 in digital assets, and 22-year-old Maissa Jebali was taken into custody for stealing TRUMP meme coins from her ex-boyfriend.

The convergence of digital assets and personal relationships continues to blur lines between opportunity and exploitation—raising pressing questions about trust, accountability, and safety in the age of crypto.