Hyundai Group’s headquarters in Seoul was temporarily evacuated this week after the company received a threatening email demanding payment in Bitcoin. The message claimed an explosive device would detonate at the Jongno District building unless 13 bitcoins, valued at roughly $1.1 billion (1.69 billion won), were paid. Police responded immediately, and after a multi-hour search, no explosives were found.
The situation was resolved without injuries or damage, but it reflects a growing pattern of bomb threats tied to digital extortion tactics targeting major Korean corporations.
Hyundai Responded Swiftly, As Did The Police
Hyundai Elantra N front three quarter picHyundai
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, the threat was reported just before noon on December 19. The email referenced a detonation time of 11:30 a.m. and explicitly named Hyundai Group’s headquarters in Yeonji-dong, Jongno-gu. Loosely translated, the email said, “If 13 bitcoins are not paid, we will blow up the Hyundai Group building at 11:30.”
As a precaution, Hyundai evacuated employees while police dispatched a special operations unit to search the building. The sweep concluded shortly before 2 p.m., at which point authorities confirmed that no bomb was present. There has been no indication that any payment was made. The response followed standard protocol for threats of this nature, prioritizing employee safety while law enforcement assessed the claim’s credibility.
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Why Bitcoin Keeps Appearing In These Threats
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Bitcoin is frequently used in extortion attempts because it is widely understood, easy to reference, and perceived as harder to trace than traditional payment methods. In many cases, however, the demand itself is more about pressure than execution.
Threats like this are often designed to force rapid decision-making rather than signal a genuine intent to carry out violence. Still, companies are required to treat every threat as real until authorities determine otherwise, which explains the evacuations and police deployments.
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This Type Of Scenario Is Part Of A Broader Pattern In South Korea
Long front 3/4 shot of the Hyundai CRATER Concept in the desert.Hyundai
The Hyundai incident is not isolated. In recent days, similar bomb threats have targeted other major companies, including Samsung Electronics, Kakao, Naver, and KT, often delivered through online message boards or customer service portals.
So far, these threats have not led to the discovery of any explosives. Still, the volume of incidents suggests a broader trend of copycat or coordinated intimidation attempts aimed at high-profile organizations.
For Hyundai Group, the situation has been resolved, and operations have resumed. For large corporations more broadly, it’s another reminder that modern security challenges increasingly blur the line between online threats and real-world disruption.
Source: Khan, Binance
