BTS's Jungkook Falls Victim to $5.7M Stock Theft During Military Service —Suspect Still at Large

It was recently revealed that BTS’s Jungkook fell victim to a massive stock theft worth billions of Korean won.

According to the music industry on March 22, the incident occurred shortly after Jungkook enlisted in January 2023. A total of 33,500 shares of HYBE stock owned by the singer were stolen—amounting to approximately 8.4 billion KRW at the time, or about $5.7 million USD.

The perpetrator allegedly used Jungkook’s name to open a securities account without permission, then transferred 33,000 shares to the unauthorized account and sold the remaining 500 shares to a third party.

BigHit Music, Jungkook’s agency, responded swiftly after discovering the crime. “As soon as the company and the artist became aware of the criminal activity, we froze the account and reversed the transactions to prevent any real damage,” the agency said in an official statement.

Jungkook later filed a civil lawsuit to recover the 500 shares sold to a third party. Last month, the Seoul Western District Court ruled in his favor, ordering the return of the shares. However, the individual behind the identity theft has yet to be apprehended.

BigHit Music added that they have taken additional steps to strengthen data security measures for their artists, aiming to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Despite the legal troubles behind the scenes, Jungkook was recently spotted enjoying some downtime during his military leave.

Photos circulating online show him attending aespa’s encore concert on March 16 at the KSPO Dome in Seoul’s Olympic Park. He kept a low profile, bundled up in a fuzzy hat pulled down to his eyebrows and a black face mask, but fans quickly recognized him by his signature wide eyes as he focused on the performance.

Currently serving in the military after enlisting in December 2023, Jungkook appears to have visited the show during a short break.

Back in January, he had shared an emotional message with fans via the Weverse platform: “If there’s something I want to do as soon as possible, it’s to fully immerse myself in learning and growing—for ARMY.”

He added, “Time seems to be flying by. I hope it goes even faster. I miss you so much it’s almost overwhelming.” He closed the message with a heartfelt note: “Thanks for reading this. I miss you today, too. I’m still waiting, so please take care of your health. I love you.”

Jungkook is scheduled to complete his military service in June 2025.