Korean Man In His 20s Sentenced For Posing As A BTS Member And Stealing Unreleased Music

A man who approached a BTS producer posing as a member of the group was sentenced in court.

BTS | People

On July 17, news outlets reported that a man in his 20s was sentenced to 14 months in prison, suspended for three years in a Daegu court. The man reportedly has also been ordered to do 240 hours of community service.

Reports state that on February 22, the man contacted a BTS producer while pretending to be a BTS member. The producer, who was fooled by the man, revealed information on upcoming promotions as well as unreleased music.

Unrelated photo of digitial crime for illustrative purposes | Unsplash

The man then reportedly shared the music 47 times, uploading the music to his Instagram account and sharing it with his acquaintances via Kakao Talk. According to reports, the man was able to find the producer’s personal information online and then committed the crime to portray himself as a successful producer.

Because of his criminal past, he had trouble making healthy relationships with people, so he spent more time on social media. Before his arrest, he had studied music, and a classmate became a celebrity. Because of this, the man committed the crime out of wanting to be like him and out of curiosity.

— Defendant’s lawyer

The judge presiding in the case emphasized the severity of the crime but that the sentence reflected Big Hit’s desire not to pursue criminal charges.