If fans don’t remember, the кσяєαn media once ѕнσ¢кed the public by reporting that 33,500 HYBE shares, worth 8.44 billion won, owned by Jungkook, were illegally stolen on January 6, 2024, while the male idol was attending a four-week basic military training course after enlisting.
The hackers took advantage of Jungkook being in the barracks—difficult to access his phone and unable to update his accounts in time. The perpetrators created an unauthorized account under his name, then transferred 33,000 shares into the new account and sold 500 shares to a third-party investor. More alarmingly, in addition to the shares, there were attempts to transfer cash as well.
Even more surprisingly, after Jungkook’s case, the ρσℓι¢є revealed that this was not an isolated crime but was carried out by a transnational criminal group. Between August 2023 and January 2024, at least 258 people, including Jungkook, had their financial and authentication information stolen by this group, which bypαѕѕed verification using third-party electronic signatures and hacked various security vulnerabilities. They are believed to have obtained over 38 billion won (approximately 29 million USD) from domestic financial accounts and virtual wallets they hacked.
Jungkook’s case has been clαѕѕified as one of the major cybercrime cases in South кσяєα this year. According to the Seoul Police, celebrities and wealthy individuals have become top targets for international hacker organizations recently. Activities such as developing malware, providing infrastructure, and laundering money are increasingly organized in a service-based criminal model.
These serious cases have posed significant challenges for South кσяєαn authorities in apprehending transnational cybercriminals. The “Special Task Force for International Phone Fraud Crimes” was established shortly thereafter. In particular, another important step taken by the кσяєαn ρσℓι¢є was to initiate investigative cooperation with the HSI (Homeland Security Investigations) to discuss international coordination for similar hacking cases.
The head of Cybercrime Investigation Division 2 at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said that because cybercrime transcends borders, cooperation with the U.S.—a country with strong IT infrastructure—is essential. Oh stated: “U.S. IT infrastructure is globally widespread, and U.S. investigators are deployed around the world. Close cooperation is extremely helpful. Given the high level of South кσяєα’s cybercrime investigation capabilities, the HSI also values collaboration with us.”
кσяєαn media evaluated this as an unprecedented collaboration in the history of cyber policing, describing it as a crucial step due to the complex and cross-border nature of the incidents. Netizens believe it is not only a commendable achievement for cyber ρσℓι¢є but also reαѕѕures celebrities and potential victims.
Meanwhile, the 2024 incident fortunately did not cause serious damage to Jungkook, and even the legal outcomes were favorable to him. Immediately after the incident was discovered, Big Hit Music confirmed that it had taken all measures to protect the artist’s rights: “As soon as the company and the artist identified this criminal activity, we took immediate action, including freezing the affected accounts and restoring the original ownership to prevent further losses. In addition to legal action, we also strengthened security measures related to the artist’s personal information and devices to prevent recurrence.”
In February 2025, the Seoul Western District Court ruled that the third party return the 500 shares that had been illegally traded to the male idol. By August 2025, the Ministry of Justice, together with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and Interpol, successfully arrested the ringleader of the hacker group while he was entering Thailand.
The incident involving a high-profile individual like Jungkook has raised public and government awareness of advanced cybercrime. Netizens hope that these new breakthroughs by the cyber ρσℓι¢є will prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
