Crypto Criminals In Crosshairs As Chainalysis Partners With South Korean Police

South Korea’s national police launched a special multi-agency task force just weeks ago to go after crypto-based money laundering. Now they have a new partner in that fight.

Building Investigative Muscle

Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korean National Police Agency on Wednesday, a deal aimed at strengthening the KNPA’s ability to investigate virtual asset crimes.

The agreement will give South Korean investigators access to personalized training content, professional certification programs, and hands-on practical instruction developed by Chainalysis.

The partnership comes at a time when North Korea-linked crypto theft has been surging. Data shows that in 2025, hackers tied to the DPRK were responsible for $2 billion in crypto losses — a 51% jump from the year before, according to research from CrowdStrike.

By April of this year, theft attributed to North Korea had already reached close to $580 million, with attacks on Kelp DAO and the Drift Protocol among the largest incidents.

South Korea’s police have been described as being at the forefront of confronting those state-level threats. But Chainalysis country director Ryan Kwon said the MoU is built around a wider purpose than targeting any single adversary.

A Wider Mandate

“While North Korean-driven attacks are understandably a national security focus, this partnership isn’t designed around a single threat,” Kwon said. “It’s fundamentally about building institutional capability.”

Chainalysis has worked alongside South Korean law enforcement before. In September last year, police in Seoul dismantled an international hacking ring that had stolen roughly $30 million.

The investigation started in South Korea and eventually led authorities to Thailand, with Chainalysis playing a supporting role throughout.

The newly signed agreement builds on that existing relationship. According to Chainalysis, Korean investigators need global visibility into how illicit funds move across blockchains to handle these cases effectively — and that cross-border reach is part of what the training is designed to provide.

The MoU follows the May launch of the Money Laundering Eradication Task Force, a multi-agency unit under South Korea’s Economic Crime Investigation Division created specifically to go after crypto-based financial crimes.

The back-to-back moves suggest a deliberate push by South Korean authorities to sharpen their tools against a growing range of threats — from state-sponsored hackers to scams targeting ordinary investors.

Chainalysis said the goal is not just to chase individual cases but to leave the KNPA better equipped long after any single investigation wraps up.

Featured image from Getty Images, chart from TradingView