Operator of Illicit Phone Spying App Masked as Child Tracker Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison

A Supreme Court ruling has finalized a seven-year prison sentence for the operator of a business that sold mobile phone surveillance applications capable of wiretapping calls in real time and covertly collecting location data, netting billions of won in illicit profits.

The Supreme Court's Second Division (presiding over the case by Justice Oh Kyung-mi) recently upheld the lower court's ruling sentencing operator A, who was put on trial for violating the Protection of Communications Secrets Act and the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, to seven years in prison, five years of suspension of qualifications, and a forfeiture of 1.97 billion won.

A and others were put on trial on charges of selling malicious apps capable of illegal wiretapping from January 2019 to November 2024, covertly recording other people's conversations and collecting and providing personal location information without the consent of the individuals.

When app users covertly installed the file on the target's mobile phone, GPS locations, messages, and call contents were wiretapped, saved, and recorded in real time and transmitted to a server, allowing users to view the information after paying a usage fee.

The installation icon disappeared from the targeted phone, making it difficult for the victim to even realize that the app was operating.

While outwardly promoting the software as a "child-monitoring location tracking app," investigations showed they advertised it on blogs and other channels using keywords such as "cheating husbands," marketing it as a program to monitor the affairs of spouses and lovers.

Following a free trial period, the app usage fees were 500,000 won for one month, 1.5 million won for three months, and 2.8 million won for six months.

The number of downloads reached 6,008.

The number of call files illegally recorded by A and others was approximately 120,000.

In addition, the total revenue they generated by providing illegal location information collection services to 980 app buyers amounted to 3.39 billion won.

Prosecutors indicted them on charges of conspiring with app buyers and violating the Protection of Communications Secrets Act and other laws.

The first trial sentenced A to seven years in prison and five years of suspension of qualifications, employee B to one year and six months in prison with three years of suspension of qualifications, and nominal CEO C to one year and six months in prison suspended for three years.

Appealing the decision, A argued that co-principality with the app buyers was not established, claiming, "I merely sold the app, and the buyers did the recording."

However, the second trial dismissed A's appeal, stating, "A sequential and implicit conspiracy with the app buyers is recognized, and functional control of conduct through essential contribution to the crimes based thereon is also recognized."

The court noted that the app itself fundamentally provided call recording and playback features, A and others emphasized wiretapping functions in their advertisements, and they made essential contributions to the crimes by providing guidance on how to covertly install the software during consultations.

The second-instance tribunal stated, "This crime severely restricts the privacy and freedom guaranteed by the Constitution, making the culpability extremely heavy."

Although A appealed once more, the Supreme Court deemed that there were no errors in this judgment and dismissed the appeal.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.