Jung Ki-joon, Head of economic policy at the Office for Government Policy Coordination of South Korea, was found dead at his home in Seoul Sunday, Yonhap news agency reported.
“He died from some unknown cause. He passed away while he was sleeping and [his] heart [had] already stopped beating when he was found dead,” the Wall Street Journal quoted a government spokesman as saying.
Yonhap said Mr. Jung was presumed to have suffered a heart attack while sleeping. and police had opened an investigation into the cause of death.
Police began an investigation into the cause of the official's abrupt death, while his colleagues say he had been under heavy stress since taking charge of devising measures against cryptocurrency speculation late last year.
Mr. Jung’s colleagues said he had been under heavy stress in recent months as South Korea worked to tackle cryptocurrency speculation, Yonhap reported.
Authorities sparked a crash in January when they announced a crackdown on cryptocurrency trading, even threatening to ban local exchanges. Bitcoin (TIKER: BTC.EXANTE) had a noticeable boost last week when a South Korean government minister confirmed there would be no ban.
So far, South Korea has imposed more strict verification checks for cryptocurrency investors. They are now required to hold certified bank accounts to buy cryptocurrency using legal tender.