Home > National > Social Affairs

Police arrest pair suspected of hacking KT user data, making illegal transactions

Published: 17 Sep. 2025, 18:30

Passersby walk past a KT store in Hongdae, western Seoul, on Sept. 10. [KIM JONG-HO]

Two people suspected of hacking the information of KT mobile subscribers and making illegal transactions with the stolen data have been arrested in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi, and Yeongdeungpo District, western Seoul.

The Cybercrime Investigation Unit of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said Wednesday it apprehended a suspect at 2:03 p.m. Tuesday at Incheon International Airport on charges of violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection and committing fraud with a computer.

Another suspect was arrested at 2:53 p.m. the same day in Yeongdeungpo District on the same fraud charges and violating the Act on Regulation and Punishment of Criminal Proceeds Concealment.

The first suspect is accused of loading illegal small base station equipment into a van and driving around designated areas in the greater Seoul region late last month and earlier this month. He allegedly hacked into KT subscribers’ mobile phones to make unauthorized small payments, including purchases of mobile gift certificates and recharges of transit cards. The second suspect is accused of converting those unauthorized payments into cash.

Police said the first suspect admitted to operating the van near the scene of the crimes on the day the offenses took place and that investigators had seized the illegal small base station equipment used in the scheme.

"Considering the risk of flight and destruction of evidence, we have requested detention warrants for both suspects," police added. "We plan to investigate further to determine the specific motive and circumstances of the crimes."

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]