Alleged mastermind behind Ok-Pop movie star inventory heist extradited to South Korea

South Korean authorities have introduced the extradition from Thailand and arrest of a suspected hacker, believed to be the mastermind behind an organised marketing campaign of assaults that stole tens of millions of {dollars} price of shares from celebrities, together with BTS singer Jung Kook.

Native information studies have confirmed that the 34-year-old Chinese language man, escorted from Bangkok to Incheon Airport in South Korea within the early hours of Friday 22 August, is suspected of embezzling over 38 billion received (US $27 million) from rich people.

Between August 2023 to January 2024, “Mr A”‘s gang hacked a number of monetary accounts after stealing private info from Korean telecom companies, and assuming the victims’ identities.

Within the case of Ok-Pop star Jung Kook, the id theft is assumed to have taken place after he enlisted for his necessary South Korean navy service.

33,500 HYBE shares (price an estimated 8.4 billion received or US $6 million at present change charges) had been reportedly illegally siphoned out of the BTS singer’s securities account in January 2024 by hackers who opened three brokerage accounts in Jung Kook’s title.

It has been reported that Jung Kook’s Large Hit Music company had been fast pondering sufficient to identify the payout and have the funds returned. Nonetheless, they didn’t handle to forestall the alleged sale of 500 stolen shares to a 3rd occasion.

After the Large Hit Music company filed a legislation swimsuit, the shares allegedly offered by the hacker to the third occasion have now been returned to Jung Kook.

Earlier this yr Large Hit Music mentioned that it had hardened the safety of its artists within the wake of the assaults:

“We enhanced our safety measures relating to artists’ non-public gadgets and private info along with the authorized measures.”

Investigators say that the suspected hacker was tracked with the help of Interpol and Thai authorities, after it was decided he had entered Thailand in April.

Authorities in Seoul have issued an announcement to the police saying that the suspect has admitted a number of the allegations towards him, while denying others.

Headlines in South Korea associated to cybercrime have change into widespread place in South Korea, with a large information breach occurring on the nation’s largest telecoms firm, SK Telecom, earlier this yr – with delicate SIM card information of tens of millions of shoppers uncovered.

Final yr it was reported that even the workplace of the South Korean president was not immune from being hacked, when it was introduced that North Korea had managed to breach the e-mail account of considered one of Yoon Suk Yeoi’s aides.