An employee at a foreign airline has been indicted for leaking private flight information of BTS and other K-pop stars.
On July 22nd, industry sources confirmed that Seoul’s cybercrime unit sent three suspects, including airline staffer A, to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on charges of violating Korea’s Information and Communications Network Act.
According to police, A accessed confidential flight records of major celebrities and sold them to brokers, earning tens of millions of KRW (approx. tens of thousands USD). The brokers then resold the data via social media DMs and open chatrooms.
Police traced financial records and confirmed the flow of information and money, along with the suspects’ roles.
In recent years, the K-pop industry has raised alarms over sasaeng fans using leaked flight details to stalk stars—buying tickets on the same flights, changing in-flight meals, or even canceling bookings to sabotage their schedules.
“This case confirms that the sale of private data is a criminal act,” said one industry insider. “We hope this sets a precedent that deters future violations.”
BTS’s agency HYBE launched a dedicated task force in 2023 and has actively worked with authorities, identifying and reporting social media accounts selling celebrity travel info. Thanks to these efforts, A was arrested in February and two others in March.
HYBE stated, “We will continue to fully cooperate with the investigation and pursue legal action without settlement or leniency under a zero-tolerance policy.”
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