"Did a Middle School Student Hack the Chosun Ilbo Electronic Billboard?" Suspect Caught

Mocking phrase displayed on the media company's electronic billboard. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Hana Na] It has been confirmed that the person who displayed a mocking phrase saying "Did the Chosun Ilbo billboard get completely hacked by a middle school student?" on a media billboard in downtown Busan a year ago was a middle school student.

Busan Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 13th that they have apprehended and are investigating a middle school student, A, on charges of violating the Information and Communications Network Act.

Student A is suspected of displaying the mocking phrase on the Digital Chosun Ilbo billboard installed on a building in Bujeon-dong, Busanjin-gu, Busan, at 1:28 p.m. on December 14 last year.

According to the police investigation, the billboard operating company’s foreign program used for remote control automatically updated, causing the login screen including the ID and password to be displayed on the billboard. Upon seeing this, A accessed the program shown on the screen and posted the mocking phrase.

The police immediately launched an internal investigation after the incident and secured A’s identity through international cooperation with Interpol and others. In the police statement, A reportedly said it was done out of simple curiosity.

A police official stated, "Since A is a minor under criminal law, the case will be sent to the family court."