South Korea operator sentenced to 7 years for illegal surveillance app

The Supreme Court of Korea has finalized a seven-year prison sentence for the operator of an illegal mobile surveillance application. The operator was found guilty of violating the Protection of Communications Secrets Act, the Information and Communications Network Act, and the Location Information Act.

Between 2019 and 2024, the operator marketed the app using slogans such as “monitoring unfaithful husbands” and “adultery lawsuits.” The software was designed to be installed covertly on a target's phone; once installed, the icon would disappear, allowing the app to record calls, intercept messages, and track GPS locations in real time without the user's knowledge.

Approximately 6,008 people downloaded the application, which resulted in the illegal recording of nearly 120,000 conversations. The operation generated approximately 3.39 billion won in revenue through subscription fees, which ranged from 500,000 won per month to 2.8 million won for six months. In addition to the prison term, the court ordered a forfeiture of 1.97 billion won.