Suspects detained in celebrity phone hacking case

Police said Friday they had apprehended two people suspected of hacking into the mobile phones of celebrities, including actor Joo Jin-mo, and threatening to leak confidential details.

The two suspects ― one a 40-year-old surnamed Park ― allegedly hacked the mobile phones of eight celebrities and blackmailed them. Five of the victims apparently paid the two 610 million won (US$505,176).

Investigators at the Cyber Security Department of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said they had sent the case to the prosecution for further investigation.

Officers also said they were in talks with the authorities in China to track down potential accomplices there, based on witnesses statements and forensic analyses of the phones.

Earlier this year, Joo issued an apology after images of text messages he sent to an acquaintances went viral. The circulated images showed conversations mentioning certain women.

Police, meanwhile, said the suspects behind the phone hack weren't related to the so-called “Nth room case,” in which 24-year-old Cho Ju-bin blackmailed women, including underaged girls, to perform gruesome sex acts and sold access to the videos and images in anonymous chat rooms.

Cho, currently detained, reportedly claimed he was responsible for hacking Joo's mobile phone. (Yonhap)