On the 29th, their agency, Big Hit Music, said, “During the quarter, we continued to monitor artist-related posts on Korean communities (Naver, Daum, Women’s Generation, Jukpan, Soul Dresser, Nate, The Qoo, Dimitry, DC Inside’s BTS, male celebrity, and Korean entertainment gallery, as well as numerous galleries, Instiz, Daily Best Storage, FM Korea), music distribution sites (MelOn, Bugs Music, Genie Music, etc.), and overseas social media channels (X, Instagram, YouTube, etc.). Furthermore, based on reports from fans, we have filed lawsuits against the creators of malicious posts.”
“We maintain our principle of taking legal action without any compromise or leniency against malicious acts such as slandering or using insulting language against our artists, creating and spreading rumors based on untrue content, and using AI to fabricate and spread false facts. In relation to this, we would like to inform you that a fine has been handed down to those who made posts insulting our artists in online communities. We will also do our utmost to ensure that criminal punishment is handed down in cases currently under investigation.
Recently, there have been repeated cases of extremely serious infringement, such as illegal activities around our artists’ homes, attempts to approach their homes, and stalking. As soon as we confirmed the facts, we immediately reported them to the police and are actively cooperating by providing the necessary materials for the investigation. In some cases, the prosecution has requested a summary order.”
They added, “Any actions that threaten an artist’s privacy or safety, such as unauthorized visits to their residence, tailing, ambushing or watching over their artist near their residence, or filming their residence, as well as defamatory or malicious posts about their artist’s private life and the creation or spread of false rumors, are all subject to criminal prosecution. In particular, we would like to inform you that leaving items around an artist’s residence without permission also constitutes stalking. These stalking actions cause serious psychological harm to artists and will not be tolerated under any circumstances. We will continue to take the strongest possible measures against all actions that threaten our artists’ privacy and safety.”
Previously, BTS members have been plagued by the actions of sasaeng fans (fans who stalk celebrities’ private lives). Jungkook in particular has been the victim of privacy violations three times.
In June of this year, a Chinese woman in her 30s was given a suspended sentence for repeatedly entering the front door’s passcode and attempting to break in, while a Korean woman in her 40s was referred to prosecutors in August of this year on suspicion of violating the Act on Punishment of Trespassing and Stalking, etc. More recently, a Japanese woman in her 50s was referred to prosecutors on December 16th on suspicion of attempted trespassing.
BIGHIT MUSIC Official Statement
Hello, this is BIG HIT MUSIC.
During the quarter, we continued to monitor artist-related posts on Korean communities (NAVER, Daum, Women’s Generation, Jukbang, Soul Dresser, Nate, The Qoo, Dimitry, numerous galleries including BTS and male celebrities in DC Inside, and Korean entertainment galleries, Instiz, Daily Best Archive, FM Korea), music distribution sites (MelOn, Bugs Music, Genie Music, etc.), and overseas social media channels (X, Instagram, YouTube, etc.). Based on reports from fans, we have filed charges against those who make malicious posts. We maintain our
policy of taking legal action against malicious acts, such as slandering or libeling artists, using insulting language, creating and spreading rumors based on false content, and using AI to fabricate and spread false facts, without any compromise or extenuating circumstances. In connection with this, we would like to inform you that a fine has been handed down to those who made posts insulting our artists in online communities. We will do our utmost to ensure that criminal punishment is handed down in the cases currently under investigation.
Meanwhile, there have been repeated cases of extremely serious infringement recently, including illegal activities around our artists’ homes, attempts to approach their homes, and stalking. Once we confirmed the facts, we immediately reported them to the police and are actively cooperating by providing necessary materials for the investigation. In some cases, the prosecution has requested summary orders.
Actions that threaten the artists’ privacy and safety, such as unauthorized visits to their homes, tailing, lying in wait or watching over their homes, and filming their homes, as well as defamatory and malicious posts about their private lives and the creation and spread of false rumors, are all acts subject to criminal punishment. In particular, leaving items around an artist’s home without permission also constitutes stalking. These actions cause serious psychological harm to our artists and are never tolerated under any circumstances. We will continue to take the strongest possible measures against all actions that threaten the privacy and safety of our artists.
In this regard, we ask for your cooperation. Protecting the safety and privacy of our artists is fundamental etiquette for a healthy fan culture. Visiting private spaces or attempting to photograph or check on residences is not only subject to legal punishment, but also causes deep anxiety and stress to artists. We ask that each and every fan take the initiative to ensure that their support translates into respect and consideration. We
sincerely thank all of you who love BTS. We will continue to implement strengthened measures to protect our artists and take more proactive measures. Thank you.
BIG HIT MUSIC
