SEOUL (THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - A college student, who lost a considerable amount of money after investing in virtual currency, was found dead in his room on Wednesday (Jan 31), after reportedly suffering from depression.

The victim's mother found her son dead in his room on Wednesday at 7.50am, according to Busan police on Thursday.

The student's family claimed that the victim had originally earned upwards of 200 million won (S$246,000) from his investment.

Due to the South Korean government's regulations to curb the heated market, however, the value of virtual currency dropped in late December, dealing a blow to the student's investment.

As the victim showed signs of depression, he reportedly relied on prescribed sleeping medication.

Police said that he had been attending a high-ranked college as a second-year student.

In the first semester of last year, he took medical leave from school, returning to his home town Busan, where he started working as a social worker in October.

Police plan to investigate the case further.