South Korea Supreme Court confirms 7-year term for illegal spy app operator
Version 2: Additional coverage confirmed the 6,008 app users and 119,713 recorded calls, and added detail on the Supreme Court’s rejection of a late appeal argument and the forfeiture amount.
In short
South Korea’s Supreme Court confirmed a seven-year prison sentence, a five-year suspension of qualifications and a forfeiture order of about 1.97 billion won for the operator of an illegal phone surveillance app. The app hid its icon and secretly sent call audio, GPS location and messages from the target’s phone to a server; courts found the operator was a joint principal in the illegal recordings, not a mere accessory. Reports put the operation’s revenue at about 3.4 billion won, with 6,008 users and location data on 980 people collected without consent.
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South Korea’s Supreme Court has confirmed a seven-year prison term for the operator of an illegal phone surveillance app that secretly recorded calls and collected location data, Asia Economy, Yonhap, Maeil Business, Hankook Ilbo and Seoul Economic Daily reported. The Supreme Court’s Second Division, with Justice Oh Kyung-mi presiding, dismissed the operator’s appeal and upheld seven years in prison, a five-year suspension of qualifications and a forfeiture order. Yonhap and Maeil Business put the forfeiture at about 1.97 billion won; Hankook Ilbo reported 1.97406 billion won. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 8 ]
Buyers installed a parent app on their own phone and a child app on the target’s phone, according to Maeil Business and Seoul Economic Daily. The child app hid its icon, and call audio, GPS location and text messages were sent in real time to the operator’s server for paying users to view, the reports said. Yonhap said the service was presented outwardly as a child-tracking app but promoted on blogs as a way to monitor a spouse’s or partner’s infidelity. Asia Economy, Maeil Business, Hankook Ilbo and Seoul Economic Daily cited advertising phrases about a cheating husband or an adultery lawsuit. Fees were 500,000 won a month and 2.8 million won for six months, with Yonhap also citing 1.5 million won for three months after a free trial; Maeil Business and Seoul Economic Daily said referral fees were paid to private investigation agencies. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 8 ]
The documents give the scale. Yonhap said the app was sold from January 2019 to November 2024 and that about 120,000 call files were illegally recorded. Maeil Business, Hankook Ilbo and Seoul Economic Daily reported 119,713 recordings of conversations between other people in October–November 2024; Maeil Business and Seoul Economic Daily said the app was provided to 6,008 users, and Seoul Shinmun’s headline cited 6,008 downloads. Yonhap, Maeil Business, Hankook Ilbo and Seoul Economic Daily said location data on 980 people was collected without consent. Revenue was reported as about 3.4 billion won, with figures ranging from 3.396 billion won in Asia Economy to about 3.39 billion won in Yonhap and 3.39635 billion won in Maeil Business and Seoul Economic Daily. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 8 ]
The operator argued he had merely sold the app and that buyers did the recording, according to the reports. The lower courts rejected this, finding a sequential and implicit conspiracy with buyers and “functional control” over the crime because he supplied the app, managed the recording server and explained how to install it secretly, Yonhap, Asia Economy, Maeil Business, Hankook Ilbo and Seoul Economic Daily reported. The court said the crime severely restricted constitutionally protected privacy and that culpability was very heavy, Yonhap, Maeil Business and Seoul Economic Daily said. Hankook Ilbo reported that the Supreme Court deemed an argument raised only at the top court — whether the recordings concerned conversations between other people under the law — not a legitimate appeal ground because it had not been raised in the appellate court. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 8 ]
Yonhap reported that the first trial also sentenced an employee to one year and six months in prison with a three-year suspension of qualifications, and a nominal chief executive to one year and six months suspended for three years. Maeil Business said the business was set up in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, in January 2019. [ 2 , 4 ]
Why it matters
The confirmation means people who sell surveillance software can be punished as joint principals in illegal wiretapping even when buyers carry out the recording, the reasoning the courts stressed in rejecting the operator’s appeal. The reported scale — about 120,000 recorded calls, 6,008 app users and 980 people whose location data was collected — indicates how much commercially sold spyware was in use in South Korea, according to the documents. The documents mention no further appeals or related investigations beyond this case.
Key facts
- The Supreme Court confirmed a seven-year prison term, a five-year suspension of qualifications and a forfeiture order of about 1.97 billion won for the app operator. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 8 ]
- The app hid its icon and secretly sent real-time call audio, GPS location and messages from the target’s phone to the operator’s server. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 8 ]
- Courts found the operator was a joint principal with buyers, not a mere accessory, because he supplied the app, managed the server and explained secret installation. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 8 ]
- Fees were 500,000 won a month and 2.8 million won for six months; Yonhap also cited 1.5 million won for three months after a free trial. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 8 ]
- Reported revenue was about 3.4 billion won, with figures ranging from 3.396 billion won to about 3.39 billion won and 3.39635 billion won. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 8 ]
- Maeil Business, Hankook Ilbo and Seoul Economic Daily reported 119,713 calls between other people were recorded in October–November 2024; Yonhap put the number at about 120,000. [ 2 , 4 , 5 , 8 ]
- Maeil Business, Hankook Ilbo and Seoul Economic Daily reported the app was provided to 6,008 users; Yonhap, Maeil Business, Hankook Ilbo and Seoul Economic Daily said location data on 980 people was collected without consent. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 8 ]
- Yonhap reported the first trial also sentenced an employee to one year and six months in prison with a three-year suspension of qualifications, and a nominal chief executive to one year and six months suspended for three years. [ 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The Supreme Court confirmed a seven-year prison term, a five-year suspension of qualifications and a forfeiture order of about 1.97 billion won for the app operator. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 8 ]
- The app hid its icon and secretly sent real-time call audio, GPS location and messages from the target’s phone to the operator’s server. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 8 ]
- Courts found the operator was a joint principal with buyers, not a mere accessory, because he supplied the app, managed the server and explained secret installation. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 8 ]
- The monthly fee was 500,000 won; Yonhap reported 1.5 million won for three months and 2.8 million won for six months after a free trial. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 8 ]
- The operation generated about 3.4 billion won; figures included 3.396 billion won, about 3.39 billion won and 3.39635 billion won. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 8 ]
- Maeil Business, Hankook Ilbo and Seoul Economic Daily reported the app was provided to 6,008 users, and Yonhap, Maeil Business, Hankook Ilbo and Seoul Economic Daily said location data on 980 people was collected without consent. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 8 ]
- Yonhap reported the first trial also sentenced an employee to one year and six months in prison with a three-year suspension of qualifications, and a nominal chief executive to one year and six months suspended for three years. [ 2 ]
- Maeil Business, Hankook Ilbo and Seoul Economic Daily reported 119,713 calls between other people were recorded in October–November 2024; Yonhap put the number at about 120,000. [ 2 , 4 , 5 , 8 ]
Still unclear
- The exact revenue total from the app business Outlets give slightly different figures: 3.396 billion won, about 3.39 billion won and 3.39635 billion won, while some headlines say about 3.4 billion won.
- The exact forfeiture amount Asia Economy, Maeil Business and Seoul Economic Daily report 1.974 billion won; Yonhap says about 1.97 billion won; Hankook Ilbo reports 1.97406 billion won.
- The period covered by the 119,713 illegal recordings Maeil Business, Hankook Ilbo and Seoul Economic Daily place them in October–November 2024, Yonhap says the app was sold from January 2019 to November 2024, and Asia Economy links the figure to operations from January 2019 without specifying the recording period.
- The operator’s identity and company name Asia Economy names him as Choi, while other outlets use the initial A, and no company name appears in the documents.
- The company’s location Only Maeil Business reports that the business was set up in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province.
- The Supreme Court’s treatment of an argument about whether the recordings concerned conversations between other people under the law Only Hankook Ilbo reports that the Supreme Court said the argument was not raised in the appellate court and was not a legitimate appeal ground.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Asia Economy and Yonhap report that the Supreme Court confirmed the seven-year sentence, the five-year suspension of qualifications and a forfeiture order of about 1.97 billion won. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Seoul Shinmun publishes a report citing 6,008 downloads and about 3.4 billion won in revenue. [ 3 ]
- Maeil Business reports the business was set up in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, in January 2019 and the app was provided to 6,008 users. [ 4 ]
- Hankook Ilbo reports the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and maintained a forfeiture of 1.97406 billion won, and that the court rejected a late appeal argument on conversations between other people. [ 5 ]
- Seoul Economic Daily reports details of the charges, fees and the appellate court’s finding of joint conspiracy and functional control. [ 8 ]