Jungkook Falls Victim to Stock Theft Amid Military Service

Jungkook  (Dok. Spec)

Wartagate.com - Jungkook, a member of the globally renowned K-pop group BTS, has become a victim of stock theft involving shares in his company, Hybe Co. The incident occurred shortly after he enlisted for mandatory military service.

According to a Yonhap report on Saturday (March 22), hackers exploited Jungkook’s identity to open an unauthorized stock account in January last year, coinciding with the start of his military duty. The perpetrators illegally transferred 33,000 shares belonging to Jungkook and sold 500 shares to a third-party investor. 

At the time, the total value of the stolen shares was estimated at 8.4 billion won (5.7 million USD).

In response to the incident, BigHit Music, Jungkook’s label under Hybe, stated that the company had taken immediate action to mitigate further losses.

"As soon as the company and the artist became aware of this criminal activity, we took actions such as suspending payments to the fraudulent account and restoring the original value to prevent significant losses," said BigHit Music.

Additionally, Jungkook filed a lawsuit demanding the return of the 500 shares transferred to the third party in 2024. 

The Seoul Western District Court ruled in favor of Jungkook last month, ordering the third party to return the stolen shares. However, the hacker responsible for the identity theft remains at large.

"Beyond legal actions, we have also implemented measures to strengthen information security regarding personal data and the devices used by our artists to prevent future incidents," the agency added.

Jungkook began his mandatory military service in December 2023 and is expected to complete his duty by June 2025.