Police Arrest Four in Murder of Chinese National in Jeju

Police in South Korea have arrested four individuals linked to the murder of a Chinese man in his thirties, who was in Jeju for a private cryptocurrency exchange.

Discovery of the Body

Authorities found the victim, identified only as Mr. A, dead in his hotel room after an acquaintance raised concerns about his silence. He had apparently bled to death from multiple stab wounds.

Suspects Apprehended

Following the report, a Chinese woman in her thirties voluntarily surrendered at Seongsan Police Station. The other three suspects, all Chinese nationals, were caught attempting to leave South Korea at Jeju International Airport. They were found with 85 million won (about $52,500) of Mr. A’s money. Investigations into their motives are ongoing.

Rising Violent Crypto Crimes

This incident is not isolated. There has been a significant trend of arrests involving Chinese nationals for violent cryptocurrency thefts in Jeju, including six arrests last month related to a theft of crypto worth 840 million won ($585,000).

Developer Jameson Lopp has tracked a rising number of physical Bitcoin attacks, indicating the frequency of such incidents has been increasing over the past years. The term ‘wrench attacks’ has arisen, defined as violent threats that compel victims to relinquish their cryptocurrency holdings.

Insights on Theft Trends

Becca Rubenfeld of AnchorWatch suggests that the trend of these attacks will accelerate, affecting victims even for small sums of cryptocurrency. Lopp warns that as cryptocurrency adoption increases, the frequency of these crimes is likely to grow.

Avoiding Risk

Both experts recommend avoiding face-to-face trades and keeping holdings private to reduce the risk of becoming a target for such crimes. The recent Jeju incident illustrates this point, as it involved an enticing trade that overshadowed the victim’s caution.

Edited by Stacy Elliott.