Recently, an incident occurred that shocked many K-Pop fans. A 20-year-old man who illegally obtained unreleased music by impersonating a member of BTS is facing justice. There were also cases of people impersonating BTS officials to extort large sums of money.
Incident triggers
The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Mr. A, who was charged with violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, to one year in prison. In August 2022, A was found to have impersonated BTS’s Suga and received an unreleased guide from the producer. But his crimes didn’t stop there.
Different ways to impersonate
Mr. A then impersonated a producer and demanded information from Ms. Sugar about her record release arrangements and when she would enlist in the military, and Mr. A impersonated Ms. V and obtained several unreleased guide music files from other producers. This has left victims and the companies involved at risk of significant property and social damage.
What the court said and why
The tribunal found that Mr. A’s behavior was not only psychologically damaging to the victims, but also aggravating in that he continued to commit the same offense. The court also noted that Mr. A had been sentenced to prison for similar offenses in the past, and cited his failure to make restitution and receive forgiveness from his victims as mitigating factors.
Additional fraud incidents occur
Separately, a 40-year-old who scammed BTS fans out of large sums of money was also brought to justice. The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Mr. B to four years in prison for fraud. Mr. B impersonated BTS officials over the internet and extorted large sums of money from his victims in the form of staff participation fees, merchandise purchases, and concert ticket payments.
Social impact and lessons learned
These incidents illustrate how social interest in celebrities and their fandom can be misdirected. These cases illustrate that crimes committed by impersonating celebrities or using their names carry serious legal penalties, and victims often find it difficult to escape the repercussions for a long time.
The lesson of the BTS impersonation is that we need to be more vigilant about the unauthorized use of socially famous people’s names and be wary of such scams. It also emphasizes the importance of verifying information online and the need to protect your privacy.
In the wake of this incident, we as a society should be more aware of fraudulent crimes involving high-profile individuals and work to foster a healthy culture online.
