On August 22, the Ministry of Justice announced that a Chinese citizen, identified only as Mr. A, had been extradited by Bangkok, Thailand to Incheon international airport with the Interpol cooperation and the Metropolitan Police of Seoul. Mr. A had entered Thailand in April and the Korean authorities ensured his arrest within two weeks after submitting an emergency extradition request.
According to investigations, Mr. a hacking ring operated in Thailand and other countries, violating websites, including telecommunication services, to steal large quantities of personal data. Using this information, the union created mobile telephony account under the names of the victims, allowing access to financial institutions and virtual resources platforms. It is believed that hackers have stolen over 38 billion KRW (about $ 27.3 million USD).
One of the highest profile victims was Jungkook by BTS. Shortly after his military enrollment in January 2024, hackers compromised his account in securities, transferring 33,500 Hybe actions for a value of ₩ 8.4 billion KRW (about $ 6.1 million USD). Of this, 500 shares – it earned 126 million krw – were sold to third parties.
Thanks to the quick action of Bighit Music, the suspicious activity has been identified in advance and the remaining actions were frozen before further losses occur. Jungkook He later filed a civil case against the buyer of the stolen actions. In a ruling by the Western District Court of Soul, the Court found that the transfer of the actions is not valid, stating that Jungkook was the victim of identity theft and ordering the return of all the stolen actions.
According to reports, the victims of the Hacker group include the presidents of Chaebol and the CEO of the venture capital company, making this one of the high profile financial crimes involving high -level celebrities and corporate characters in recent years. With the Mr. at now in South Korea, authorities should pursue further expenses and further investigations on the complete area of the hacking operation.
Sources: Netizenbuzz
