The operator of a mobile phone surveillance application that illegally intercepted real-time phone calls and secretly collected location data, raking in billions of won, has had a 7-year prison sentence finalized.

The Supreme Court's Division 2 (Presiding Justice Oh Kyung-mi) recently finalized the lower court ruling sentencing the operator of the spy app sales company, identified as A, to 7 years in prison, 5 years of suspension of qualifications, and the forfeiture of 1.97 billion won on charges including violations of the Protection of Communications Secrets Act and the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection.

A and others were put on trial for selling malicious apps capable of illegal wiretapping from January 2019 to November 2024, secretly recording conversations of others and collecting and providing personal location data without the consent of the individuals.

When an app user secretly installed a file on the target's phone, GPS locations, messages, and call contents were intercepted, stored, and recorded in real time and transmitted to a server, allowing the user to view the information by paying a subscription fee.

The installation icon disappeared from the target's phone, making it difficult for the individual to even notice that the app was operating.

While outwardly promoting it as a "location tracking app for monitoring children," they marketed it on blogs and other platforms using keywords like "cheating husband" as a program to monitor the affairs of spouses and lovers, investigations showed.

After a free trial period, the app subscription fees were 500,000 won for 1 month, 1.5 million won for 3 months, and 2.8 million won for 6 months.

The number of people who downloaded the app reached 6,008.

The number of illegally recorded call files obtained 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 to violate the Protection of Communications Secrets Act and other laws.

The first trial sentenced A to 7 years in prison and 5 years of suspension of qualifications, while sentencing an employee, B, to 1 year and 6 months in prison with 3 years of suspension of qualifications, and a figurehead CEO, C, to 1 year and 6 months in prison suspended for 3 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 carried out the recordings."

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 an essential contribution to the crime based thereon is also recognized."

The court noted that the app itself fundamentally provided call recording and playback features, A and others emphasized the wiretapping function in advertisements, and they made an essential contribution to the crime by guiding users on how to covertly install it during counseling sessions.

The appellate court stated, "This crime severely restricts the privacy and freedom guaranteed by the Constitution, and the culpability is extremely heavy."

Although A appealed once again, the Supreme Court ruled that there were no errors in these judgments and dismissed the appeal.