By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
Bodyguards of popular female singer Ivy allegedly roughed up her fans last Friday at a high school in Chungjongno, causing a spat of the angry Internet messages.
The accident took place as three bodyguards tried to protect the singer from some 70 high school students at Inchang High School after she walked away from her concert.
The students surrounded Ivy as she was getting into her car parked in the schoolyard after she finished filming ``School of Rock'' for music television Mnet. The program shows popular singers holding surprise concerts for middle and high school students.
The students involved in the accident claimed that they were hit and verbally abused as they tried to see Ivy close-up. They claimed the situation was not so dangerous as to cause such actions. They also claimed that their school uniforms were torn and mobile phones broken. They said the similar verbal and physical assaults took place when students tried to approach the stage during the concert.
Some of schoolteachers, who were attempting to control the students, said that the bodyguards also verbally abused them.
After the accident, Inchang students posted angry messages on the Web sites of the cable TV program and their school, demanding a police investigation.
The singer expressed her concern and regret about the accident on her personal blog. Ivy wrote a short message, ``I'm deeply sorry about the accident,'' on the main page of her blog after erasing all the photos and stories.
The program's director and the bodyguard company, Topguard Security, also issued separate apologies at their Web sites.
``We sincerely regret the accident,'' Chun Hyong-jun, director of the program, said on the Web site of Mnet. ``The program is made for students, but through this accident, we hurt them.''
The cable TV will take a strong action against those responsible for the assault, he said.
Despite an apology by the security company on its homepage, Inchang students expressed fears. They said in an interview with an Internet-based news service Gonews that the security company allegedly posted threats of retaliation on the Internet. The security company was not available to answer questions about the allegation.
Famous for her sultry dance moves and sexy image, Ivy enjoys her highest popularity with her second album, ``A Sweet Moment.'' Her latest song, ``Temptation Sonata" topped various music charts.