BTS are globally beloved for their music, so it’s understandable that fans want to hear as much of it as possible, but one man went to some wild lengths to attempt to obtain access to BTS’ unreleased music.
According to International Business Times, in February 2022, a 28-year-old Korean man approached a producer who works with BTS at their label, Big Hit Music, and pretended to be a member of the world-famous K-pop group. He found the producer’s information on the internet.
The man was able to get access through the producer to BTS’ unreleased music and promotional activities and shared the information 47 times from February to May of last year.
He apparently uploaded the leaked music to his Instagram account and shared it with people via KakaoTalk, a Korean messaging app.
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Apparently, the man’s motive was to gain access to the music in order to present himself as a successful producer.
Now, the man has been sentenced to prison for his impersonation.
The Daegu District Court’s Western District Criminal Division 9 announced on Monday (July 17) that the man was sentenced to one year and two months in prison, as well as three years’ suspension, 240 hours of community service, and 40 hours of mental and psychotherapy classes.
The man’s lawyer asked the court for leniency, according to a translation from Koreaboo.
“Because of his criminal past, he had trouble making healthy relationships with people, so he spent more time on social media,” the lawyer claimed. “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.”
Koreaboo reported that the judge in the case emphasized the “severity of the crime” but that the sentence reflects Big Hit’s desire not to pursue further criminal charges.
In 2022, BTS released an anthology album, Proof, that spanned their ten-year career, including new hits like “Run BTS” and “Yet to Come.” The album marked their last official group project (for now) before the band began working on solo projects while some members enlisted in the Korean military for their mandatory service.