[Courtesy of YG Entertainment]
SEOUL -- YG Entertainment, home to famous K-pop artists such as BIGBANG, BLACK PINK, IKON and WINNER, declared a war against cyber violence and took merciless legal actions to curb malicious posts and rumors.
"We will no longer sit back and watch cyber bullies who spread malicious rumors," YG said in a statement on Tuesday. The company said it has sued 69 online threads that included malicious rumors, sexual harassment and composite photographs.
There have been coordinated attacks on YG artists on online communities and news portals. YG Entertainment head Yang Hyun-suk, who has refrained from taking strong action to avoid trouble, called for help from fans in February to collect evidence for legal action against cyber violence.
Different forms of cyberbullying have been a serious problem in South Korea's entertainment industry for many years with celebrities often becoming the target of cyber violence.
In December last year, Jonghyun, a member of South Korea's popular K-pop band SHINee, drove the South Korean society into a shock by committing suicide. He suffered from depression and many experts suspect that cyberbullying played a role in his tragic suicide.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
