K-pop star denies dating only son of Chinese billionaire
Zhou Jieqiong, a Chinese member of K-pop girl group Pristin, and Wang Sicong, son of a Chinese billionaire, were rumored to have been dating. Courtesy of Pledis Entertainment, Capture from Wang Sicong's Weibo
By Dong Sun-hwa
Zhou Jieqiong, a Chinese member of K-pop girl band Pristin, denies that she has been dating Wang Sicong, the only son of Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin.
A spokesperson for the group's agency, Pledis Entertainment, said on Sunday the rumor was false and that the company might take legal action if speculation continued.
Her Chinese agency XCSS Entertainment also said, “The rumor is far from the truth, and we demand the rumormongers delete their posts ― otherwise, they will face legal action.”
The rumors started when online users uploaded posts on Chinese online communities, including Sina Weibo, on Sunday, claiming Zhou went on a trip to Japan with Wang.
Zhou, 21, shot to fame after appearing in Mnet's survival reality show “Produce 101” in 2016 and joined project girl group I.O.I composed of 11 top rankers from the contest. In 2017, after the disbandment of I.O.I, she debuted as a member of Pristin and has been forging a singing career in Korea and China.
Wang, 31, founder of entertainment company Banana Culture, is the only son of Wang Jianlin, chairman of China's largest real estate developer, Dalian Wanda Group.