- By Srishti Pandey
- Sat, 22 Mar 2025 04:41 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
BTS Jungkook recently faced a shocking financial crime involving his HYBE stock holdings, valued at 8.44 billion KRW. According to Korean media outlet Biz Hankook, an unidentified perpetrator attempted to steal a significant number of shares from the singer while he was away on military duty.
The incident reportedly took place on January 6, 2024. The thief managed to open three unauthorized securities accounts in Jungkook’s name and transferred 33,500 HYBE shares into these accounts without his consent. From this, 500 shares were sold to a third party. The remaining 33,000 shares were valued at 8.316 billion KRW based on HYBE’s closing stock price on January 5, 2024.
Jungkook became aware of the theft and filed a civil lawsuit in March 2024 at the Seoul Western District Court to recover his shares. In February 2025, the court ruled in his favour, declaring that the third party who purchased the 500 shares must return them. The court emphasized that the sale was invalid due to the absence of a legitimate stock transfer agreement, identifying Jungkook as a victim of identity theft.
im so happy that jungkook decided he won’t let it go this easily and decided to sue everyone involved
— 슙⁷ (@yoongipd) March 22, 2025
The third-party argued that they had purchased the shares in good faith and were unaware of the illegal origins. However, the court dismissed this claim, stating that the buyer showed negligence by failing to verify the stockholder’s identity — especially given that the shares belonged to a major stakeholder like Jungkook. Initially, the third-party appealed the verdict but later withdrew their challenge in March 2025.
Investigations revealed that the third party had paid 20,000 USDT (a cryptocurrency) to the seller in advance for the shares. Despite these developments, the true mastermind behind the theft remains unidentified. Authorities suspect that someone close to Jungkook might have been involved, given the detailed financial knowledge required to pull off such an act. A securities company official noted, “The perpetrator appeared to have comprehensive information about Jungkook’s financial assets, attempting not only to transfer stocks but also to access cash.”
Big Hit Music, BTS' management company, issued a statement acknowledging the incident and reaffirming their commitment to protecting their artists. They confirmed that both the company and Jungkook took immediate action to prevent further damage by suspending payments to the fraudulent accounts and restoring his rightful holdings. Additionally, they emphasized implementing enhanced security measures to safeguard artist information and prevent such incidents in the future.
Big Hit Music shares statement on JUNGKOOK having 8.4 billion won worth of shares on HYBE stolen:
— Kpop Charts (@kchartsmaster) March 22, 2025
— “As soon as the company and the artist became aware of the criminal activity, the company and the artist took measures to prevent substantial damage by suspending payments to the… pic.twitter.com/SZMbIhYlH1