Sasaeng fan posing as courier loses appeal over illegal address collection

A fan who impersonated a delivery worker to unlawfully obtain home addresses and other personal details of SM Entertainment idols lost his appeal, with the court upholding a criminal fine of about USD 2,200 (KRW 3,000,000).

The Seoul Eastern District Court Criminal Division 1-2, presided over by Jeong Hyeon Seok, dismissed the appeal on August 28, 2025 KST, affirming the lower court’s ruling under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection. The defendant, a man in his twenties identified as A, had sought a lighter sentence.

According to case findings, A and a co-defendant B—who became acquainted while co-hosting audio livestreams on a social platform—called phone numbers used by SM Entertainment artists on April 23, 2023 KST, pretended to be couriers, and extracted address information by claiming that part of the delivery address was missing and a drop-off could not proceed. Victims included three members of NCT and one member of EXO.

In July 2024, the trial court convicted both A and B, imposing fines of about USD 2,200 (KRW 3,000,000) each. A appealed, arguing that the conduct sprang from fandom. The appellate panel rejected that framing, writing: “The victims experienced considerable anxiety, to the point that one actually moved homes; the nature of the offense is poor, and most victims wish for strict punishment. Considering all sentencing factors revealed at trial, the lower court’s sentence is not so heavy as to exceed the bounds of reasonable discretion.”

The court further noted: “The defense claims the motive was simply to hear the idols’ voices a little longer, but every call focused on asking for residential information or obtaining actual home addresses. We cannot accept that claim.”

SM Entertainment had previously identified four participants from the livestream in question and referred two individuals—those who made the calls— to prosecutors with a recommendation to indict.