Overview
- The Seoul Central District Court handed down a 20-year prison term to the alleged ringleader on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, after finding him guilty of fraud and violating the information network law.
- Court findings say the group stole more than 38 billion won (about $27 million) in confirmed losses and that total damage including blocked or attempted transfers could reach roughly 64 billion won.
- Investigators found the ring ran from about August 2023 into 2025 and kept data on hundreds of potential victims to open phone lines in their names, intercept one-time verification codes, and access financial and crypto accounts.
- High-profile targets included celebrities, influencers and top business figures; HYBE blocked an attempt to take about 8.4 billion won in Jungkook’s shares and prevented that loss.
- Law enforcement credited cross-border cooperation for the arrest in Thailand and extradition to South Korea in 2025, and the court warned the scheme undermined public financial trust while the defendant showed little remorse.