K-Pop Singer Encounters Toxic Criticism

Oct 16, 2006

The lead singer of the popular group TVXQ or Tong bang shin gi in Korean, U-know YunHo (20) was taken ill after drinking juice that had been laced with glue by a woman who failed to appreciate his performing skills. The singer, who was in the middle of recording a program for KBS, started vomiting on Saturday evening and is still undergoing treatment. A 20-year-old identified as Go, who is on leave of absence from a two-year college course in South Chungcheong Province, confessed the crime to Youngdeungpo police station in Seoul on Sunday.

The group’s agency SM Entertainment said U-know YunHo was at the KBS studios in Yeouido, where the singer was filming a variety show, when he drank some orange juice that Go had given to him outside the green room, and immediately told his manager that the juice tasted of glue and began vomiting. After receiving emergency care at St. Mary’s Hospital in Yeouido, he was transferred to an unspecified hospital in Gangnam for examination.

In a letter that accompanied the glass of juice, Go wrote, “Be careful what you say, you won’t last long. Do you have any idea how many people change the channel as soon as TVXQ comes on?” along with other, similar sentiments. SM Entertainment says doctors checked to see if the toxins had made it into the star’s system but no serious harm was done. “Since Sunday afternoon, U-know YunHo has been in stable condition and hopes quickly to regain his health and see the fans again,” it said.

Police quoted Go as saying she was a member of an online community of TVXQ haters and did not care for the way U-know YunHo sings or dances. She decided to put bond glue in juice she had bought at a convenience store but thought he would smell the glue and throw it away. She insisted she did not expect the singer actually to drink the juice. Police say it is unlikely Go intended to commit homicide, so they are treating the case as assault.

Source: englishnews@chosun.com 

 http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200610/200610160025.html