IU, Shin Se-kyung, Lee Chan-won, BTS… “Over The Top Sasaeng” With Murder Threats And Family Damage

The war between stars and malicious commenters continues in invisible places.

On October 6, singer and actress IU revealed that she had received a murder threat during filming, shocking many. This was revealed through a statement from her agency, EDAM Entertainment, about the legal response to malicious commenters and rumor spreaders.

EDAM Entertainment said, “We are in the process of holding civil and criminal liability for the reckless slander and illegal acts against artists both online and offline, based on the zero-tolerance principle. We are also preparing additional follow-up measures.” He explained, “The level of violent acts against artists has already gone too far, with investigative agencies urgently dispatched to our company’s headquarters, Kakao Entertainment’s headquarters, and the artist’s home after a death threat was reported against the artist. At that time, the artist “It was during filming, and the matter was finalized after the investigative agency confirmed that the situation was secure and safe, so we immediately strengthened the artist’s security personnel.”

EDAM Entertainment also said, “On the 8th, through a legal representative, we filed a lawsuit against the accuser in the Seoul Central District Court, claiming damages for illegal acts such as defamation of the artist, violation of personal rights, and false accusation. In this case, “After receiving the complaint, we have begun the application process to secure the personal information of the accuser, and as the court adopts the application, we are awaiting a reply with related materials,” he said. “As soon as the personal information of the accuser is confirmed, we will strictly hold him/her accountable for damages.” He also warned, “Last February, we already filed a complaint to Gangnam Police Station in Seoul against a group of people who have been slandering the artist, including a number of SNS accounts and IDs of those who are strongly presumed to be the accusers, on charges of defamation by publishing false information.” The investigation is currently in progress, and data to secure the personal information of the person presumed to be the same person as the accuser has been collected and delivered to the investigator in charge. After requesting and executing a warrant to secure communication confirmation data, a reply from the company is awaiting. He also said, “There is.”

Shin Se-kyung, a colleague from IU’s agency, also declared war on malicious commenters.
On August 31, EDAM Entertainment submitted a complaint to the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul on October 27, 2021 against an unknown person and 43 others on charges of insulting the actor, and on February 23, a complaint was filed with the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul with an unknown name. “We have filed a complaint against one other person on charges of contempt, and we have completed the investigation of the accuser’s statement, but we are having difficulty securing the identities of these defendants,” he said. Even in cases where there is a deadlock, there are an increasing number of cases where the investigation is resumed after verification procedures have been secured and evidence that can later identify the accused person has been secured. The accused people who are still continuing to write malicious posts about actors. “We are continuing to secure additional data to secure their identity and are gradually narrowing the siege, and we strongly warn you that the strict judgment of the law is not far away,” he emphasized.
Big Hit Music, the agency of top idol group BTS (RM, Jin, Jimin, J-Hope, Sugar, V, and Jungkook), said, “We are taking regular legal action against authors of malicious posts such as defamation, insults, sexual harassment, spread of false information, and malicious slander against BTS.” “This quarter, we have collected evidence of acts that infringe upon artists’ rights and interests, including insults and defamation, collected through fans’ reports and self-monitoring, and submitted multiple complaints to investigative agencies,” Big said.

Hit Music reported that some fans sent mail and packages to the homes of BTS members several times and caused damage to their families, and continued to collect evidence on sasaengs, thereby violating the law on the punishment of stalking crimes (Stalking Punishment Act). By filing a complaint, the court took a temporary measure to ban access, and the prosecution’s investigation is currently continuing.

Big Hit Music said, “We will continue to respond with zero tolerance to stalking crimes that invade artists’ privacy and threaten their safety.” “Among those subject to this lawsuit are publishers who have repeatedly posted violent and insulting comments in the news section of portal sites.” Included. The publisher in question committed more than a dozen high-level malicious comments on several articles, and collected all confirmed insulting comments and filed a complaint. Even if it takes time, we are continuously working to eradicate illegal acts against artists. “We will continue to hold the suspects accountable to the end and take strict action without any agreement or leniency,” he said.

Meanwhile, Lee Chan-won’s agency, TN Entertainment, also issued an official statement on the same day, saying, “Postings that defame and insult our artist Lee Chan-won, including malicious slander, spread of false facts, defamation, and threats, are being posted through various online communities and SNS.” “We will do our best to protect the artist and hold strong legal responsibility without leniency,” he said.

TN Entertainment has been preparing legal action by collecting evidence on malicious posts through its own monitoring and reports from fans. Accordingly, netizens who continuously posted malicious posts about Lee Chan-won were sued several times, and some netizens were found guilty of all charges.

However, afterwards, malicious posts and even threatening posts towards the artist were confirmed through various online communities and SNS, and the agency again filed a second complaint.

The agency said, “We have filed a second complaint after confirming that the netizen who was previously admitted to the charges continued to post malicious posts. In addition, we have collected related data and a number of evidence materials through fans’ reports and self-monitoring.” “We are collecting information. We will do our best to protect artists and will respond without leniency if malicious posts are discovered in the future,” he explained.