Young Koreans' Bitcoin Mania Irks Employers

A growing number of Koreans in their 20s and 30s are so caught up in tracking the progress of their cryptocurrency investment that it takes over their lives.

Employers complain that young workers are distracted by tracking Bitcoin fluctuations during work hours or even quitting their jobs seeking to become full-time traders. Some businesses are looking for ways to block access to cryptocurrency trading websites during office hours.

Han Jung-soo, a worker in his 20s, quit his job with a credit card company last month after three years because he made W3 billion from investing in cyber money (US$1=W1,110).

"I enjoyed working, but I realized it made more financial sense to focus on my investment considering the returns I can gain for the amount of time I put in." As his success story spread through the Internet, more and more people in their 20s and 30s are jumping on the bandwagon.

Experts warn young people are being lured by the high-risk investment because of soaring housing prices, which have only dashed their hopes of ever owning a home.

One office worker in his 30s who started investing in cyber money said, "I face the reality of being unable to afford my own home no matter how hard I save up my salary. Despite severe volatility, there is no other way than cryptocurrency investment for me to accumulate wealth."

One team leader at a start-up company in Pangyo south of Seoul said, "Most employees of IT companies in this area invest in cryptocurrency, and we're seeing workers quit after making more profits from their cyber cash investment than their jobs. This is one of the reasons that IT companies have recently rushed to give big pay rises to their staff."