SEOUL, Aug 21 — A Chinese national has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for leading a hacking operation that targeted BTS member Jungkook and South Korean business executives.
According to The Korea Times, the Seoul Central District Court handed down the sentence yesterday to a man identified by his surname, Chun, after convicting him of fraud and violations of South Korea’s information network law.
The hacking scheme was linked to the theft of more than 38 billion won (RM110 million) from its victims.
“(Chun) targeted wealthy individuals and stole their assets,” the court said. “The victims lost their assets despite bearing no fault, unlike in voice phishing scams.”
The court also said Chun had failed to show genuine remorse for his actions.
Prosecutors said Chun was part of an overseas criminal operation that gathered victims’ personal information between August 2023 and January 2025, with activities including in Thailand.
The group allegedly used the stolen information to activate mobile phones in victims’ names before transferring assets from their accounts.
Among those targeted was Jungkook, whose holdings in HYBE — the parent company of BTS agency BigHit Music — became the focus of an attempted share theft.
Sources cited by The Korea Times said the group tried to transfer 8.4 billion won worth of Jungkook’s HYBE shares.
Jungkook did not suffer a financial loss, however, after the agency detected the activity and took immediate action.
The hacking operation also targeted a prominent business figure from one of South Korea’s major conglomerates.
