BTS member Jungkook has become an victim of a large-scale stock fraud involving HYBE, the company behind the global K-pop phenomenon. As per the reports from Biz Korea, someone tried to illegally transfer and sell HYBE shares worth 8.44 billion KRW ($5.6 million) using Jungkook’s name at the time when he was away for military service.
Shares Sold Without Jungkook’s Knowledge
The scammer reportedly transferred 33,500 HYBE shares from Jungkook’s account and successfully sold 500 shares for around 126 million KRW ($86,000). This incident took place on 6 January 2024, just a month after Jungkook enlisted in December 2023 along with one more BTS member Jimin.
Shockingly, the culprit opened three fake accounts on Jungkook’s name without his knowledge.
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Legal Action Taken by Jungkook
However, once Jungkook got to know about all this, he immediately filed a civil case in March 2024 to recover the sold shares. The Seoul district court ruled in his favour, recognising him as a victim of identity theft and ordered the return of the money spent by the third-party buyer. The buyer, who had paid through cryptocurrency, was also criticised by the court for failing to verify the real stockholder.
Suspect Still At Large
The stolen 33,000 shares are valued at over 8.3 billion KRW. However, the person behind this crime has not yet been identified. Investigations are ongoing, with authorities suspecting that someone close to Jungkook may have accessed his banking details and passwords.
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