Block B "Suicide Petition" Is Unfounded?

News released on February 24 stated that Block B member P.O. had been hospitalized for shock. In response, some media had quoted their agency Brand New Stardom as saying, “A petition was discovered requesting Block B to commit suicide which has caused P.O. to collapse and he has currently been hospitalized.” The inconvenient truth is that such a petition was unable to be located anywhere online. Could it be that because of the seriousness of the situation that it has since been deleted?

Companies that operate such sites claim that, “There are serious regulatory policies in place to handle abusive or illegal posts, it is rather clear that one would never have just arbitrarily deleted a post.”

The origin of such a petition is unclear. Ironically, the search for the petition brings up Block B fan sites which have further spread around the articles contents and their discussions regarding the matter. There are rumors as to who originally created the petition. Some of them are claiming that perhaps the post never existed.

However, as reported by the agency, the rumor of a plea for suicide by the Block B members has ultimately caused P.O. to collapse. The news of P.O. has caused the public’s opinion to transform from disgust to sympathy. They have rallied against the petition and have directed their arrows of criticism toward the publisher.

Originally, the public had criticized the idol group for their behavior and lack of etiquette in an international interview. The group immediately began to reflect on their actions and released multiple apologies. However the netizens responsible for their excessive response, which further inflated the problem, have not been found. But the agency keeps obscuring the main issue, and the behavior of some fans, along with that of some netizens, is not the answer either.

Since the events have transpired, the agency responded by saying, “We will focus quietly on our activities. Under such circumstances there seems to be a spark of good after all. We are working to calm the situation and make amends. So far we have taken the first step by apologizing to the people of Thailand.”

The members have shown their remorse and apologized through posts made to their official site and even have created a video apology directed to the TV station and the Thai people. Block B, their agency, the media, and netizens are at fault, each party should be forgiven and then move on. Block B’s image has changed, and it might not immediately be seen, soon it will become clear to forgive and forget. This is turning out to be a blessing in disguise as Block B will learn from their mistake and will grow into a more mature idol group.