SEOUL, July 26 (Reuters) - South Korea launched an interagency investigation unit to tackle crypto-currency crimes on Wednesday amid a surge in illegal activities in the market and a lack of legal protections for investors. The Joint Investigation Centre for Crypto Crimes will be manned by some 30 personnel from judicial, financial, tax and customs agencies, the Prosecutors' Office said in a statement. The Prosecutors' Office said that until the crypto-currency market was regulated under law, the investigation team would fill the gap in investor protection. South Korea's crypto-currency market, which had been one of the fastest growing in the world, shrank 66% last year by market capitalisation, on a series of global and domestic events dampening investor sentiment, on top of high interest rates. Across local crypto-currency exchanges, suspected crime-related transactions jumped 1,263%, to 900 in 2022 from 66 in 2021, according to the statement.

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Persons: Luna, Kown, 1,278.5000, Jihoon Lee, Michael Perry Organizations: Joint Investigation, Crypto, Prosecutors, Office, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, Montenegro, United States