BTS's Jungkook Cleared After $5.6 Million HYBE Stock Fraud Allegations

K-pop group BTS is all set to make a comeback after being on a hiatus on almost 3 years. But amidst the comeback news, the maknae of the group, Jungkook, fell victim to a financial fraud to the theft of $5.7 million worth of shares from his HYBE portfolio.

Jeon Jungkook, the youngest member of the boy band, his bank account got hacked and the culprit transferred 8.4 billion won ($5.7 million) in HYBE shares. According to reports, this incident took place in January 2024, soon after he began his mandatory military service. The stocks were restored to him when the Seoul Western District Court issued a decision in his favor in February. BigHit Music released a statement regarding the situation.

According to reports, the hacker created 3 accounts under Jungkook’s name on January 6, 2024. 33,500 HYBE shares were transferred without permission using the unauthorised accounts. According to reports, 33,000 of them were valued at about 8.316 billion KRW, while 500 were sold to a third party.

Big Hit Music shares statement on JUNGKOOK having 8.4 billion won worth of shares on HYBE stolen:

— “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

— Kpop Charts (@kchartsmaster) March 22, 2025

Upon discovering the fraud, Jungkook’s team took this matter to the Seoul Western District Court, where the verdict was announced in his favour. According to reports, the court noted that Jungkook was a victim of identity theft and stressed that the sale was void because there was no proper stock transfer agreement. But the hacker has not been caught yet,

BigHit Music also released a statement regarding the issue that said, “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 account and restoring the account. JUNGKOOK filed a civil lawsuit in 2024 seeking the return of 500 shares that were transferred to a third party, and the Seoul Western District Court ruled last month that the third party must return the shares to JUNGKOOK. Apart from legal measures, we have also taken measures to strengthen information security related to artist personal information and devices to prevent recurrence.”

Jeon Jungkook is currently serving in the military and will be discharged on June 11, 2025.