[Exclusive] Former Kakao CEO Also Targeted... Phishing Alert Aimed at 'Famous People in Detention'

Former Kakao Chief Investment Officer Bae Jae-hyun, who is on trial for stock price manipulation charges related to SM Entertainment, was reportedly hacked while incarcerated earlier this year, resulting in financial crime damages amounting to hundreds of millions of won.

Bae Jae-hyun, former Chief Investment Officer of Kakao. Photo by Yonhap News

According to the legal community on the 3rd, Bae was detained and indicted last November for violating the Capital Markets Act and was held at Seoul Southern Detention Center for about four months until March this year. During this period, it was discovered that someone extracted his personal information and withdrew hundreds of millions of won over several dates from securities and deposit accounts under Bae’s name.

Bae, who was incarcerated at the time, realized the damage belatedly and reported it, but a large sum of money had already been withdrawn. While on trial in detention, Bae applied for bail ahead of the expiration of his detention period, revealing the damage to the court and requesting to be tried without detention. Bae was released on bail on March 6.

This case appears to be a crime that exploited the fact that victims find it difficult to check their financial accounts in real time due to reasons such as detention. In particular, it is a so-called ‘spear phishing’ targeting a famous person whose name or face is known, rather than the general public. The method targets specific victims as if spearing them with a spear.

A similar case occurred in October last year when unauthorized attempts to sell shares and withdraw funds were made from the stock account of former Ecopro Chairman Lee Dong-chae, who was serving a sentence at the time. Ecopro reported to the police that Lee’s personal information had been hacked. A legal community official said, "Caution is needed regarding financial crimes targeting detained celebrities."

Meanwhile, Bae is currently undergoing a first trial at the Seoul Southern District Court in a non-detained state along with Kim Beom-su, Chairman of Kakao’s Management Innovation Committee.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.