Airline Employee Who Allegedly Sold BTS Flight Data Facing Police Investigation
This week, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in South Korea announced that its cybercrime unit has arrested an airline employee based in Hong Kong accused of illegally accessing hundreds of flight details for K-pop artists. The individual, who allegedly profited from sharing information about several stars — including BTS — now faces a lengthy investigation.
According to industry sources, the employee would use the airline data system at their place of employment to search for travel information for K-pop stars. Selling the information to stalkers (referred to as 'sasaengs' in Korea) led to a profit of 10 million won for the individual, which equates to approximately $7,000 USD. Over the past few years, the same sources confirm that those who purchased illegal flight details had used them to board the same flights as artists, change an artist's seats or meal selections, or cancel a flight reservation entirely.
HYBE, the label home of acts including BTS, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, SEVENTEEN, and LE SSERAFIM, responded with an exclusive comment, sharing, 'HYBE will take a zero-tolerance approach to the criminal activity of commoditizing and trading artists' personal information, holding those responsible accountable to the fullest extent of the law, without any settlement or leniency.'
In the past, K-pop management companies have successfully identified and taken legal action against those who had purchased and benefited from this private data. But now, the identification and arrest of a prominent seller has helped to further disrupt the supply chain.
'The sale or purchase of illegally obtained ticket information is a very serious matter that threatens the safety of artists, creates a sense of insecurity, and can lead to safety incidents at airports and on airplanes,' the statement from HYBE continued.
Additionally, HYBE recently partnered with a cybercrime unit as part of a specific effort to combat AI deepfakes, which have increased in popularity across multiple sectors of the entertainment industry.
Airline Employee Who Allegedly Sold BTS Flight Data Facing Police Investigation Mary Siroky
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