Death threats put K-pop stars in danger
Apink / Korea Times file
By Kim Jae-heun
A series of incidents involving some diehard K-pop fans, who are pushing the limits of expressing their interest in the idols, are threatening the singers as they have posted malicious messages online.
An anonymous man threatened to murder members of the girl band Apink on June 14.
An unidentified voice called Gangnam Police Station and claimed he would stab the girls to death. Police immediately dispatched a special unit to the entertainment agency where the band gathered everyday to practice before the release of their 6th mini-album.
The agency called the police to send a bomb squad to Mecenatpolis in Mapo, Seoul, on June 26, the day of an Apink press conference. They had received a call claiming that a bomb had been planted at the venue.
Japanese member Mina of the popular girl band TWICE was also the target of a death threat by one of the members of an ultra right-wing online community “Ilbe Storehouse,” last month. He posted a message on the internet forum, writing, “I am coming to kill you” with two pictures: one of a knife cutting a wrist, the other of the female singer.
The suspected netizen posted a handwritten apology online after the death threat went viral saying he was not aware of how much of a threat his post was to the singer. However, Mina’s agency announced it will take stern action against the suspect and report him for threatening to murder her.
Boy bands are no exception to death threats as an unidentified netizen posted a comment that he would shoot the singer Jimin of “Bangtan Boys,” or BTS, during his concert in California, in March.
The netizen even specified the timing of the planned shooting, claiming he would do it when the idol sings the song “Lie.”
BTS’s agency officials tightened security with the help of local police and finished the concert safely.
“If a fan’s fascination with a celebrity crosses the line, it becomes a fixation and an obsession,” culture critic Kim Sug-soo said to local media. “Then the person will think of the celebrity as his or her own property or alter ego and want to have the celebrity act the way she or he wishes. If the celebrity does not go along with it, the person will go into enormous rage and could act out.”