South Korea cracks down on crypto fraud after BTS star Jungkook gets hit with 39 billion hacks

• Personal data from 258 victims were stolen from six public and financial portals.
• BTS star Jungkook has won an attempt at Hybe Stock Theft, a target of 8.4B.
• 21.3b won with the stolen virtual assets, and 12.8b was recovered by the police.

South Korean authorities have discovered one of the nation’s biggest cyber fraud cases and dismantled an international hacking ring that stole nearly 39 billion victory from famous victims.

Seoul’s metropolitan police agency confirmed that the group exploited weak security across government, IT and financial platforms to steal data from 258 people.

The suspects targeted celebrities, including wealthy business leaders, lawyers, athletes, crypto investors and BTS member Jungkook.

The investigation revealed a cross-border scale of operations ranging from Seoul to Bangkok.

Hackers misused data from 258 victims

Between July 2023 and April 2024, the ring infiltrated six public and financial portals with little protection. Personal information such as the residents’ registration number and financial verification data has been made public.

Police said 258 casualties were affected, including 75 business executives, 11 lawyers and officials, 12 celebrities, six athletes and 28 virtual asset investors.

Collectively, the group accessed accounts with a general corporation estimated at 55.22 trillion won, with some single accounts exceeding 12 trillion won.

To carry out the scam, hackers created 118 mobile accounts in the names of 89 victims. These accounts were used to bypass security checks and siphon money directly from banks and crypto wallets.

A total of 16 casualties lost 39 billion won, but the financial institutions were able to block another 25 billion won on theft attempts. The largest confirmed losses included 21.3 billion won in virtual assets.

BTS star Jungkook was targeted in an attempt of 8.4 billion won

The scheme attracted widespread attention after police confirmed that BTS member Jungkook was one of the intended victims.

The hacker tried to move 8.4 billion won of HYBE shares in his name, but the suspicious transaction was blocked before the fund left the account.

Officials have flagged banks and institutions for unusual activity, preventing Jungkook’s potential loss. In total, police were able to recover 12.8 billion won through rapid intervention, including freeze-up accounts and suspension of withdrawals.

However, investigators highlighted that the incident exposed a significant weakness in South Korea’s non-face-to-face authentication system.

Arrested across South Korea, China and Thailand

The investigation began in September 2023 when unauthorized mobile phone activation was first reported to Nam Damung Police Station. Over the next few months, 16 suspects were identified and taken into custody.

The masterminds were identified only as Mr. A (35) and Mr. B (40) and frequently moved between China and Thailand. Both were eventually arrested in Bangkok in May after Seoul police worked with Thai authorities and Interpol.

Mr. A was handed over to South Korea on August 22 and faces 11 charges, including massive fraud and hacking, but Mr. B is being detained in Thailand waiting for extradition.

The three suspects are still in custody in South Korea, while the rest are charged with fraud, hacking and violations of the Information and Communications Networks Act.

Police noted that if the group had been allowed to continue operations, the outcome could have been much worse.

South Korea’s rising crypto fraud

This case is added to the wave of cybercrime waves related to Korean cryptocurrency. On May 15, Jeju Police arrested 25 suspects for implementing a fake investment scheme that 48 people, including 734 million, had been fraudulent.

In another case, Incheon police officers were accused of embezzling 700 million won from investors in a fake crypto project.

Meanwhile, the park “John Ver Kim,” known as “Coin King,” is currently in trial to manipulate Artube coins, causing investors’ losses to 68 billion won.

Authorities are also investigating large-scale money laundering. The licensed broker won 943.4 billion wins through Neteller Pay between 2019 and 2024, and 26 billion wins on the committee, according to prosecutors.

The assets, which won 4.4 billion in Ethereum, were subsequently seized from hidden wallets.

The case has been expanded to romance scams, with a man in his 50s losing 100 million won in July, a celebrity-related scam, and a trial after actress Hwang Jung Yu-Um embezzling 4.3 billion won from an agent for crypto buying.

Despite these risks, South Korea remains one of the most active crypto markets in the world. Chain melting data shows an influx of $130 billion in 2024, with Koreans trading 10.8 million digital assets.

More than 10,000 investors hold balances of over 1 billion won, especially among traders in their 20s. Regulators are currently preparing to approve the country’s first spot Crypto ETF and Stablecoin to win, as major exchanges are expanding custody services to institutions.