Airline Employee Sold BTS Flight Info to Sasaengs for Thousands of Dollars

A group involved in the illegal sale of flight information of famous celebrities, including BTS, has been handed over to the prosecution.

According to the music industry on the 22nd, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Cyber Investigation Unit has recently sent three individuals, including a foreign airline employee identified as A, to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on charges of violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection.

The police investigation revealed that A illegally obtained flight information of famous celebrities and passed it on to distributors. It is estimated that A received tens of millions of won in return.

The distributors sold this information through open chat rooms on messaging apps or via direct messages on social media.

During the investigation, the police secured details of A's illegal information acquisition methods and financial transactions, and confirmed the structure of profit generation and accomplice relationships.

Numerous entertainment companies, including HYBE, have been lamenting the significant damage caused by frequent leaks of private information such as celebrities' flight details.

Extreme fans, known as 'sasaeng fans', purchased flight information to board the same flights as celebrities, attempting close contact or changing in-flight meal orders as a form of stalking. Some even went as far as canceling flight reservations or altering seat information, disrupting the celebrities' schedules.

BTS's agency, HYBE, formed a task force in 2023 to address the issue of flight information leaks and has consistently filed complaints with investigative agencies. HYBE identified several social media accounts trading celebrity flight information, gathered evidence to identify the operators, and submitted it to the police for legal action.

As a result, the police were able to narrow down their investigation, successfully apprehending A in February and two accomplices in March.

Photo = Xportsnews DB

This article was originally published in Korean on Xportsnews and was translated into English using AI.

by Myung Heesuk