▲ This Yonhap file photo shows BTS members departing Korea on a tour. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, July 22 (Yonhap) -- An airline employee who illegally obtained and sold flight boarding information of top celebrities, including K-pop group BTS, has been referred to prosecutors, police said Tuesday.

 

According to the music industry, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Cyber Investigation Unit recently forwarded a foreign airline employee, identified as A, and two accomplices to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on charges of violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, among others.

 

Police investigations revealed that A illicitly accessed boarding information for high-profile celebrities and passed it along to intermediaries. In return, A is believed to have received tens of millions of won. These intermediaries sold the information through messenger-based open chatrooms and direct messages (DMs) on social media platforms.

 

 

▲ (Yonhap)

 

Authorities secured details of how A obtained the information, along with financial transaction records, and confirmed the structure of the operation and the roles of those involved.

 

The entertainment industry has long raised concerns about the frequent leakage of sensitive travel information concerning celebrities, warning that such breaches have caused significant harm.

 

 

▲ This photo of BTS is provided by Big Hit Music. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

So-called “sasaeng” fans — individuals who engage in obsessive and invasive behavior toward celebrities — reportedly purchased this kind of private flight data to board the same planes, attempt close contact, or even tamper with in-flight meal orders. In more extreme cases, some used the information to cancel celebrities’ flight bookings or alter seat assignments, disrupting their schedules.

 

“This referral to the prosecution confirms that leaking and trading personal information is clearly a criminal offense,” said an industry official. “With investigations now reaching the original sources of the leaks and entering the stage of determining criminal liability, this marks significant progress. We hope this will serve as a strong deterrent against similar crimes.”

 

BTS’s agency HYBE formed a dedicated task force in 2023 to combat the leakage of flight information and has consistently filed legal complaints. The company identified several social media accounts involved in the illegal sale of such information and secured evidence of their operators' identities, which was submitted to police.

 

The investigation led to the arrests of employee A in February and two additional suspects in March.

 

HYBE stated, “We will continue to fully cooperate with further investigations and ensuing legal proceedings. We will uphold a zero-tolerance policy toward the commercialization and trafficking of artists' personal data, and pursue accountability to the fullest extent without any settlement or leniency.”

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