South Korea arrests hackers who stole $28 million from the elite

Key points:

• Seoul police arrested 16 members of a hacker group that stole $28,1 million.
• The victims included 258 people, including businesspeople from the top 100 corporations, government officials, and celebrities.
• The total assets of the targets exceeded $39,8 billion, with the largest single theft amounting to $15,4 million in cryptocurrency.

Seoul police cracked down on an international hacker group that attacked South Korea’s business elite, including Jungkook from BTS and senior executives of major companies. The criminals stole $28,1 million (39 billion Korean won) from the cryptocurrency and bank accounts of 16 victims.

How the hackers operated

According to police, the group was led by two Chinese citizens, aged 35 and 40, who ran the operation from China and Thailand. From July 2023 to April 2024, they hacked into the websites of government agencies, IT companies, and banks, stealing the personal data of 258 wealthy citizens. Among them were 75 businessmen, 11 officials and lawyers, 12 celebrities, 6 athletes, and 28 crypto investors.

The total amount of assets in the victims’ accounts reached $39,8 billion (55,2 trillion won). The main target was an account with assets worth $8,6 billion (12 trillion won).

The hackers registered 118 SIM cards in the names of 89 victims, exploiting a vulnerability in the remote verification system of virtual operators. This allowed them to bypass authentication and gain access to bank accounts and crypto wallets.

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Losses and prevented thefts

The organization withdrew $28,1 million from 16 victims, including the largest single cryptocurrency theft of $15,4 million. Another $18 million was attempted to be stolen from 10 people, but these transactions were blocked by banks. Thanks to prompt action, $9,2 million was recovered.

In the case of Jungkook, the attackers attempted to steal $6,1 million worth of Hybe Entertainment shares, but the transaction was stopped by the financial monitoring system.

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Arrests and international cooperation

In total, the police arrested 16 people, including four intermediaries. Two alleged ringleaders were detained in Bangkok with the assistance of Interpol. One of them has been extradited to Korea, while the other remains in custody in Thailand.

Oh Gyu-sik, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s 2nd Cyber Investigation Unit, noted:

“This incident of bypassing the non-face-to-face authentication system is ‘unprecedented,’ and the vast sums accessed ‘could have easily led to an even bigger crime.’”

According to experts, hackers are increasingly targeting crypto owners, but in South Korea, they are also attacking a wider range of wealthy citizens.