BTS Jungkook. Courtesy of BigHit Music
The mastermind of a large-scale hacking ring that targeted the wallets of leading wealthy figures in Korea, including BTS member Jungkook, has finally set foot on Korean soil.
On the 13th, the Ministry of Justice and the National Police Agency forcibly repatriated to Incheon International Airport from Bangkok, Thailand, A (40), a Chinese national alleged to be the head of the hacking ring accused of stealing or attempting to steal more than 38 billion won from the financial and virtual-asset accounts of domestic victims, Yonhap News reported that day.
Their targets were clear and audacious. They covertly looked into the account balances of as many as 258 people, ranging from famous entertainers to conglomerate chairmen and venture-company CEOs. In particular, BTS global superstar Jungkook was also an intended target. The group led by A tried to seize HYBE shares worth 8.4 billion won by using the name on the securities account of Jungkook. Fortunately, an immediate payment freeze was imposed, so no actual monetary loss ensued, but it was a hair-raising moment that could have triggered a huge shock inside and outside the music industry.
Their method was astonishingly cunning. They hacked government and public-agency websites and, using personal information stolen there, opened ‘budget phones’, easily toppling the identity-verification barrier central to financial transactions. Above all, the ‘situation’ of their chosen targets was vicious. They mainly set their sights on wealthy individuals serving in the military or confined in prison. They exploited a perfect ‘blind spot’ in which victims would find it difficult to check mobile-phone alerts immediately or respond.
In effect, the weak security of remote activation for budget phones became the host that enabled this large-scale crime. In response, the police recognized the security holes in the budget-phone activation process and belatedly moved to tighten controls, including by revising related directives.
This repatriation of the ringleader is the result of persistent international coordination. Through a joint operation with Interpol, the Ministry of Justice and the National Police Agency first arrested an accomplice, a man surnamed Jeon (36), in Thailand in May last year and had him detained and indicted; after continued extradition requests and diplomatic persuasion, they also secured custody of A, succeeding in uprooting the organization.
The police plan to apply for an arrest warrant for A after an intensive investigation. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency stated, “As this case has very large social repercussions, we will conduct a strict investigation with not a shred of doubt.” Public attention is fixed on whether the full picture of those who sought to siphon off hundreds of billions of won in national wealth by exploiting the gaps created by military service and imprisonment will be made perfectly clear.
