BTS’ Jungkook hacking case: Ringleader gets 20 years in prison, ‘No sincere remorse’

A Chinese national has been sentenced to 20 years behind bars for masterminding a cross-border hacking ring that drained tens of millions of dollars from wealthy South Koreans, including BTS star Jungkook.

According to the Korea Herald, the Seoul Central District Court delivered the sentence Thursday, convicting the man, surnamed Chun, of fraud and information network violations linked to the theft of more than 38 billion won (about $27.2 million) from his victims.

In handing down the sentence, the court noted that Chun deliberately pursued affluent targets and drained their financial assets, stressing that those affected suffered losses through no fault of their own, a key distinction from typical voice phishing cases. Judges also pointed to Chun's lack of sincere remorse as a factor in the ruling.

According to prosecutors, Chun was part of an international criminal network that operated across borders, including in Thailand, and ran the scheme between August 2023 and January 2025. The group's method involved harvesting victims' personal data, using it to activate mobile phones under their names, and then draining funds from their financial accounts.

Investigators confirmed that Jungkook and an executive from a major Korean conglomerate were among those targeted by the operation.

According to separate sources, the hacking ring also tried to seize approximately 8.4 billion won in HYBE shares belonging to Jungkook — HYBE being the parent company of his label, BigHit Music, though the agency intervened quickly enough to block the attempted theft.