BTS’ Jungkook becomes victim of identity theft, targeted in HYBE stock scam worth $5.6 million

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In response to the scam, Jungkook filed a civil lawsuit in March 2024. In his complaint, he requested the return of the 500 shares that had been sold to a third party. Seoul’s district court ruled in his favour, stating, “There was no valid stock transfer agreement, and Jungkook is merely a victim of identity theft.” The court also ordered the third party to return the funds they owed the BTS member, which had been used to purchase the stolen shares for roughly $20,000 USD (in the form of cryptocurrency).

Jungkook’s 33,000 shares were reportedly worth 8.316 billion KRW, based on the closing price on January 5. However, despite the court ruling, the real culprit behind the account theft remains unidentified. An investigation has been launched, but so far, there have been no solid leads. Given the level of access the suspect had to Jungkook’s personal banking details and passwords, it has been suspected that someone close to him might have been involved. South Korea’s court rejected the third party’s defence, stating “they were negligent for not verifying the stockholder’s identity, especially knowing the shares belonged to a key shareholder.”