Man ‘A‘ has been sentenced to prison for posing as the BTS members to obtain unreleased songs.
According to the Seoul Central District Court on May 16, the Criminal Appeal Division upheld the 1-year prison sentence against 29-year-old ‘A‘, who was indicted for violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection.
Reports say ‘A’ was arrested and charted for using his cellphone to pose as the BTS members to approach a music producer. His goal is said to have been to gather information about the BTS members’ military service and get information about their unreleased guide tracks.
‘A’ impersonated BTS member SUGA between August and September of 2022, and following conversations with the music producer, he was able to obtain unreleased guide tracks for BTS’ songs. In November of the same year, ‘A’ then impersonated the producer when contacting SUGA in order to gather information about album releases and military service schedules.
‘A’ was also found to have impersonated BTS’ V in order to obtain over 10 unreleased guide tracks from a different producer.
In the first trial, ‘A’ was sentenced to a year in prison as his actions could potentially cause significant financial and social damage to BTS and their label. The appeals court has now maintained the judgement from the first tiral.