HYBE Shares Updates On Legal Proceedings For Their Artists Against Malicious Activities

HYBE has provided updates on the legal proceedings against those who engage in malicious actions against their artists.

On June 28, HYBE artists including BTS, TXT, SEVENTEEN, fromis_9, Hwang Minhyun, Baekho, TWS, NewJeans, and BOYNEXTDOOR each released statements regarding the progress of their legal proceedings against malicious activities that violate the rights of the artists.

BTS

Hello.
This is BIGHIT MUSIC.

We regularly take legal action against authors of malicious posts regarding BTS for offenses including defamation, personal attacks, sexual harassment, spread of false information, and ill-intentioned criticism. We wish to provide an update on our progress.

This quarter, we have continued to gather evidence of activities violating the artist’s rights, including personal attacks and defamation, through fan reports and our internal monitoring system. Consequently, we have filed several complaints with the investigative agency.

As we made clear in separate announcements in April and May, various malicious rumors surrounding the artist are untrue and groundless. We have continuously collected evidence on those who participated in the organized rumor-mongering efforts and included them in the complaints.

We want to clarify once again that there is no connection between BIGHIT MUSIC and BTS, and Body & Brain. Circulating rumors alleging the artist’s or the artist’s lyrics’ association with Body & Brain are fictitious. Upon discovering Body & Brain’s illegal use of BTS’s intellectual property rights, we promptly demanded the removal of the content in question and received a commitment to prevent any future occurrences. Should similar issues arise in the future, we will take decisive legal action to uphold and protect the artists’ intellectual property rights in line with our principle. Likewise, in February, we communicated a cease and desist request to Global Cyber University to stop the unauthorized use of BTS’ intellectual property rights. We also want to make clear that rumors of surreptitious chart manipulation and unethical marketing are a product of fabrication and completely unconnected to the artist.

Apart from the authors of the malicious posts, we are taking separate legal action against those who violated the artist’s privacy. We are also pursuing civil and criminal cases against so-called “cyber wreckers” including the YouTube channel ‘Sojang.’

In 2022, we litigated against ‘Sojang’ for defamation and obstruction of business and the investigative agency had previously decided to suspend the investigation. However, with our persistent request for the resumption of investigation to be authorized, and our provision of personal information regarding ‘Sojang’ to the investigative agency, the case has been reopened and is currently being investigated. An additional civil suit was filed earlier this year to seek damages for defamation and other illegal acts committed by ‘Sojang’ and is expected to go to trial soon.

As for the previous complaints filed, multiple cases were forwarded to the prosecutor’s office and the suspects are awaiting disposition. We will endeavor to make sure that the suspects are held accountable regardless of how long it may take.

We are persisting with collecting, reporting, and taking legal action against malicious posts about the members of BTS, who are currently fulfilling their mandatory military service. Our legal efforts will continue during their vacancy and we will take severe action against the suspects. There will be no leniency or settlement under any circumstances.

Please do not hesitate to report to BIGHIT MUSIC’s official legal response hotline by email at protect@bighitmusic.co.kr.

We deeply appreciate your unwavering love and support for BTS. BIGHIT MUSIC will continue to work to ensure that the rights of our artists are fully protected.

Thank you.

TXT

Hello.
This is BIGHIT MUSIC.

We regularly take legal action against authors of malicious posts about TOMORROW X TOGETHER for offenses such as defamation, personal attacks, sexual harassment, spread of false information, and ill-intentioned criticism. We want to provide an update on our progress.

We have filed a number of complaints with an investigative agency based on new evidence collected in the first half of the year through fan reports and our monitoring system.

Notably, we have identified activities centered around online communities indicating a coordinated effort to spread false information in order to undermine the achievement that TOMORROW X TOGETHER has built with their fans and harm the artist’s reputation. As such, they have been included in our complaints.

In addition, we are taking legal action against malicious posts about the artist regardless of the channel, be it social networking platforms or online communities.

We will continue to take strong legal action against malicious posts that violate the artist’s rights. There will be no leniency or settlement under any circumstances.

BIGHIT MUSIC is committed to collecting and reporting malicious posts about TOMORROW X TOGETHER and taking legal action regularly. We ask for your continued interest and support. Please do not hesitate to report to BIGHIT MUSIC’s official legal response hotline by email at protect@bighitmusic.co.kr.

We deeply appreciate your unwavering love and support for TOMORROW X TOGETHER. BIGHIT MUSIC will continue to work to ensure that the rights of our artists are fully protected.

Thank you.

SEVENTEEN

Hello.
This is PLEDIS Entertainment.

We regularly take legal action against authors of malicious posts about SEVENTEEN. We want to provide an update on our progress.

We have identified malicious posts and comments online including defamatory statements through the spread of false information, personal attacks, and slander, through fan reports and our real-time monitoring system.

We have collected evidence through our real-time monitoring system with a particular focus on allegations of surreptitious chart manipulation. We have also consulted valuable fan reports to file complaints with an investigative agency.

In addition, we have confirmed a number of existing complaints in which investigators have identified the defendants and are pursuing further legal action.

We are taking severe legal action against malicious posts about the artist regardless of the channel, be it social networking platforms or online communities. There will be no leniency or settlement under any circumstances in the legal proceedings concerning the artist’s rights.

Your interest and reports are tremendously helpful in our legal response. We deeply appreciate your unwavering love and support for SEVENTEEN. Please do not hesitate to report to PLEDIS Entertainment’s official legal response hotline by email at protect@pledis.co.kr.

PLEDIS Entertainment will continue to work to ensure that the rights of our artists are fully protected.

Thank you.

fromis_9

Hello.
This is PLEDIS Entertainment.

We regularly take legal action against authors of malicious posts (comments, messages and weverse DMs included) about fromis_9 for offenses such as defamation, personal attacks, sexual harassment, the spread of false information, and ill-intentioned criticism. We would like to give an update on our progress.

We are collecting evidence of malicious posts directed at the artist in real-time and filing complaints against them. Our most recent legal action targeted several individuals who maliciously published inappropriate posts and comments mocking and insulting the artist’s hometown and appearance, and causing sexual humiliation or disgust. Additionally, we have filed a complaint against a website that we continuously monitor, where sexually harassing posts about the artists are posted frequently.

As a result of our continual legal response, a large number of malicious actors have been identified and are currently being investigated by the police. In some cases where the investigation was completed, fines have been imposed. The defendants named in our complaint will not be free from legal sanctions and we will endeavor to make sure that they are punished appropriately.

Our policy of no leniency and no settlement under any circumstances remains unchanged. We will continue to be vigilant in our monitoring and evidence-collecting processes to hold authors of malicious posts accountable to the fullest extent of the law to protect the rights of our artists regardless of how long it may take.

PLEDIS Entertainment is committed to regularly collecting and reporting malicious posts about fromis_9 and taking legal action. We ask for your continued interest. Please do not hesitate to report to PLEDIS Entertainment’s official legal response hotline by e-mail at protect@pledis.co.kr

We deeply appreciate your unwavering love and support for fromis_9.
PLEDIS Entertainment will continue to work to ensure that the rights of our artists are fully protected.

Thank you.

Hwang Minhyun

Hello.
This is PLEDIS Entertainment.

We have taken decisive legal action with a zero-tolerance policy against authors of malicious posts regarding Hwang Minhyun for offenses including defamation, personal attacks, sexual harassment, spread of false information, and ill-intentioned criticism. We wish to provide an update on our progress.

We are closely reviewing the evidence collected through valuable fan reports and our advanced monitoring system built to document malicious posts in real-time.

As for our previous complaint filed, it is currently pending with the investigative agency. We will endeavor until the criminal disposition is finalized to make sure that the defendants are held accountable for their actions.

We will continue to take strong legal action against malicious posts that violate the artist’s rights. There will be no leniency or settlement under any circumstances.

PLEDIS Entertainment is committed to collecting and reporting malicious posts about Hwang Minhyun and taking legal action regularly. We ask for your continued interest. Please do not hesitate to report to PLEDIS Entertainment’s official legal response hotline by email at protect@pledis.co.kr.

We deeply appreciate your unwavering love and support for Hwang Minhyun.
PLEDIS Entertainment will continue to work to ensure that the rights of our artists are fully protected.

Thank you.

Baekho

Hello.
This is PLEDIS Entertainment.

We have taken decisive legal action with a zero-tolerance policy against authors of malicious posts regarding Baekho, for offenses including defamation, personal attacks, sexual harassment, spread of false information, and ill-intentioned criticism. We wish to provide an update on our progress.

We are collecting evidence through valuable fan reports and our advanced monitoring system built to document malicious posts in real-time. We will be submitting our complaint to the police upon its completion.

As for the complaints we have already filed, the investigation is ongoing. We will continue to take strong legal action against malicious posts that violate the artist’s rights. There will be no leniency or settlement under any circumstances.

PLEDIS Entertainment is committed to collecting and reporting malicious posts about Baekho and taking legal action regularly. We ask for your continued interest and support. Please do not hesitate to report to PLEDIS Entertainment’s official legal response hotline by email at protect@pledis.co.kr.

We deeply appreciate your unwavering love and support for Baekho.
PLEDIS Entertainment will continue to work to ensure that the rights of our artists are fully protected.

Thank you.

TWS

Hello.
This is PLEDIS Entertainment.

It has come to our attention that an unacceptable level of malicious posts and comments associated with offenses such as defamation, personal attacks, the spread of false information, and ill-intentioned criticism against our rookie artist TWS have continuously been published and disseminated across various online communities, social network platforms, and music streaming sites.

In response, we have conducted real-time monitoring to identify and document malicious posts and comments aimed at discrediting the artist with unsubstantiated rumors. In addition, we have filed complaints with an investigative agency based on fan reports. Among them is groundless rumor-mongering regarding TWS’ album and digital song sales, against which we are taking decisive action. Such posts and comments were included in our complaints as well. We would like to clarify once and for all that rumors regarding TWS’ album and digital song sales are not true.

PLEDIS Entertainment is committed to regularly taking legal action against malicious behaviors against our artists. There will be no leniency or settlement under any circumstances.

Your interest in this matter and your reports are tremendously helpful in conducting our legal response. Should you come across any malicious posts or illegal activities regarding TWS, please report them to PLEDIS Entertainment’s official legal response hotline by email at protect@pledis.co.kr.

We deeply appreciate your unwavering love and support for TWS.
PLEDIS Entertainment will continue to work to ensure that the rights of our artists are fully protected.

Thank you.

NewJeans

Hello.
This is ADOR.

We regularly take legal action against authors of malicious posts about NewJeans for offenses such as defamation, personal attacks, sexual harassment, the spread of false information, ill-intentioned criticism, and use of pejorative names. We want to provide an update on our progress.

We are seeing an increase in the number of malicious posts aimed at discrediting the artist with unsubstantiated rumors online. We have collected comprehensive evidence from all domestic and overseas platforms through valuable fan reports and our real-time monitoring system, and we have filed complaints with an investigative agency.

The authors of posts and comments that mock and insult the nationality or appearance of the artist, that cause sexual humiliation or disgust, and that spread false information were all included in the complaints.

As a result of our continual legal response, fines have been confirmed for several defendants in the existing lawsuits. Legal proceedings are ongoing against the remaining defendants. In particular, the police are investigating individuals who have committed unacceptable offenses including the dissemination and sale of fake, obscene photos of the artist. Some of the cases have resulted in criminal penalties in the first trial.

There will be no leniency or settlement under any circumstances in the legal proceedings regarding the artist’s rights. Given that underage members are involved, we will remain vigilant in our monitoring and evidence-collecting processes to hold authors of malicious posts accountable to the fullest extent of the law, regardless of how long it may take.

Your interest and reports are tremendously helpful in our legal response. Please do not hesitate to report to ADOR’s official legal response hotline by e-mail at protect@ador.world

We deeply appreciate your unwavering love and support for NewJeans. ADOR will continue to work to ensure that the rights of our artist are fully protected.

Thank you.

BOYNEXTDOOR

Hello.
This is KOZ ENTERTAINMENT.

We continually document malicious posts about BOYNEXTDOOR through fan reports and our monitoring system to protect the rights of our artists.

Recently, in addition to fan reports, we identified and collected evidence of malicious posts that include personal attacks, mockery, ill-intentioned criticism and spread of false information aimed at harming the artist’s reputation, and successfully filed complaints.

We will continue to be vigilant in monitoring online channels including social networking platforms and various online communities and regularly take legal action against the authors of malicious posts. There will be no leniency or settlement under any circumstances.

Your interest and reports are tremendously helpful in our legal response. Should you come across any malicious posts regarding BOYNEXTDOOR, please report them to KOZ ENTERTAINMENT’s official legal response hotline by email at protect_koz@kozent.com using the template below.

We deeply appreciate your unwavering love and support for BOYNEXTDOOR. KOZ ENTERTAINMENT will continue to work to ensure that the rights of our artists are fully protected.

Thank you.

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