SEOUL – The leader of an overseas hacking ring that stole more than 38 billion won (S$34.8 million) by targeting wealthy figures in South Korea was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Aug 20.
The Seoul Central District Court found the Chinese national, identified only by his surname Jeon, guilty of fraud and violations of the Information and Communications Network Act.
“The group sought out wealthy individuals as targets and stole their assets,” the court said. “Unlike victims of typical voice phishing schemes, the victims in this case lost their assets while defenceless and through zero fault of their own.”
The court added that the case was “a serious crime that shook not only individual victims but also the very foundations of the public financial system”.
It also said Jeon showed little remorse, noting that he claimed someone else was the actual ringleader, but that person’s identity could not be verified.
Jeon was accused of organising a hacking crime group abroad, including in Thailand, and illegally collecting personal information from August 2023 to January 2025.
The victims included Jungkook of K-pop boy band BTS, other entertainment figures and the head of one of South Korea’s top 30 business groups.
The hacking group used the victims’ personal information to open mobile phone accounts in their names with low-cost carriers, then used the accounts to access their bank and cryptocurrency accounts. It stole assets worth more than 38 billion won in total.
Including cases in which losses were prevented, such as by blocking transactions after funds were transferred, the total amount involved is estimated at 64 billion won.
In Jungkook’s case, 8.4 billion won worth of his Hybe shares were targeted. His agency quickly detected the breach and suspended the transactions, preventing him from suffering a financial loss. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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