South Korean agencies spend $11.3M on Chainalysis over three years

South Korean law enforcement agencies and government bodies have spent approximately 15.6 billion won (about $11.3 million) over the past three years on a U.S.-based cryptocurrency analytics program, Segye Ilbo reported on Dec. 9. The report cited data obtained through the office of People Power Party lawmaker Kim Tae-ho. According to the data, the National Police Agency spent a total of 4.81 billion won on the analytics firm Chainalysis this year. The largest portion, 3.69 billion won, was allocated to cyber and other investigative departments, while criminal divisions, including drug investigations, spent 954 million won, and national security probes accounted for 170 million won. Separately, South Korean prosecutors are also spending billions of won annually on Chainalysis. The Ministry of Justice stated that the prosecution service paid 1.35 billion won to the firm this year, a nearly fourfold increase from the 378.73 million won spent in 2022.