A civil servant in South Korea has been given a suspended prison sentence and two years of probation for stealing around $159,000 worth of public funds to invest in cryptocurrency. The official, who was in charge of budget expenditure at an administrative welfare center, siphoned off the money over 41 separate transfers and tried to cover their tracks by marking the embezzlement as "expenses." The court heard that the official had already suffered significant losses from investing in cryptocurrency before turning to public funds. Some media outlets have criticized the leniency of the sentence, but the judge cited the fact that the embezzled money was repaid and the accused cooperated with the investigation.