Chinese national sentenced to 20 years for hacking BTS member

A Seoul court has sentenced a Chinese national to 20 years in prison for leading a hacking scheme that targeted BTS member Jungkook and South Korean business executives, according to South Korean media.

The Seoul Central District Court on August 20 convicted the man, identified by his surname Chun, of fraud and violations of the country’s information network laws. The case involved the theft of more than 38 billion won ($27.2 million) from victims.

“[Chun] targeted wealthy individuals and stole their assets,” the court said, adding that the victims lost their assets through the scheme despite having done nothing wrong.

The court also said Chun had shown no genuine remorse for his actions.

Prosecutors said Chun was part of an overseas criminal network operating in countries including Thailand between August 2023 and January 2025. The group allegedly obtained victims’ personal information, activated mobile phones in their names and transferred funds and other assets from their accounts.

Among the targets were Jungkook and a business executive from a major South Korean conglomerate.

Sources said the group attempted to steal shares worth about 8.4 billion won ($6 billion) from Jungkook’s holdings in HYBE, the parent company of his agency BigHit Music. The agency took immediate action to prevent the alleged theft from causing financial losses.

By Sabina Mammadli