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BTS Jungkook. (Photo=Big Hit Music) |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan) member Jungkook was recently revealed to have been the victim of hacking while serving in the military, nearly losing 8.4 billion KRW worth of stocks. His agency and Jungkook's team have immediately taken legal action and implemented security measures, with some of the stolen stocks being returned through a court ruling.
According to sources from the music and legal industries on Saturday, Jungkook became a victim of identity theft shortly after his enlistment in January 2024. Hackers opened a securities account under Jungkook's name and illegally transferred 33,500 shares of HYBE, which he owned (worth approximately 8.44 billion KRW at the time), to their own account. Of those, 33,000 shares were transferred to the hacker's account, while the remaining 500 shares were sold to a third party.
In March of this year, Jungkook filed a civil lawsuit against the third party who purchased the 500 shares. The Seoul Western District Court ruled, "The stocks were illegally traded by using Jungkook's identity, and the transfer contract was not valid. The third party must return the stocks."
Big Hit Music, Jungkook's agency, stated, "Upon discovering the crime, we immediately froze the accounts and took steps to restore the situation, preventing further damage." The agency added, "In addition to legal actions, we are strengthening the artist's personal and device security and implementing measures to prevent such incidents from happening again."
Meanwhile, the person responsible for stealing the stocks using Jungkook's identity has yet to be apprehended.
Jungkook, who enlisted in December 2023, is currently serving in the army and is set to be discharged on June 11th, 2025.
알파경제 Kim Jisun (stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
