SEOUL - Employees of Coinnest, South Korea's fifth largest cryptocurrency exchange, were detained on Thursday in connection with the alleged embezzlement of assets, Maeil Business Newspaper reported on Thursday, citing prosecutors.

Coinnest was not immediately available for comment, although the company's websites appeared to be operating as normal.

Prosecutors did not have an immediate comment.

It is the first time employees of a local cryptocurrency business have been detained in South Korea, the world's third largest cryptocurrency trading country.

(Reporting by Dahee Kim; Editing by Eric Meijer) ((Dahee.Kim@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 3704 5643; Reuters Messaging: dahee.kim@thomsonreuters.com))