By Dong Sun-hwa
Jeong Eun-ji of K-pop girl group Apink has taken legal action against an alleged stalker, according to her management company, Play M Entertainment, Wednesday.
Play M said that the alleged perpetrator has been harassing the singer for more than a year since last March.
"Via the law firm Wooree, we filed a complaint against the alleged stalker to accuse him of violating the laws concerning minor offenses, among others," the company said in a statement. "Although we asked him multiple times to stay away from our artist, he did not stop stalking her and even came to her home (without permission). Given the fact that he has been inflicting severe damage on our star, we decided to take stringent legal action."
Under existing Korean law, stalking is categorized as a misdemeanor, so most stalkers are only punished with fines of up to 100,000 won ($88), even if they are found guilty. But under a new law that will go into effect on Oct. 21, stalkers may face more severe punishment ― up to three years in jail or 30 million won ($25,639) in fines.
The K-pop label added that it has been battling internet trolls, too.
"Some of them have already been prosecuted," it said. "We will continue striving to protect the rights of our artists."
Jeong debuted as part of Apink in 2011 with the album "Seven Springs of Apink." After dropping a string of hits with the group such as "Mr. Chu," (2014), Jeong made her solo debut in 2016 with the album "Dream." In 2012, she kicked off her acting career with the coming-of-age drama "Reply 1997."
This incident is not the first time that a K-pop star has reported stalking. In 2020, an alleged stalker hailing from Germany ― who is believed to have stalked Nayeon of K-pop girl group TWICE since December 2019 ― followed her onto a Korea-bound plane that departed from Japan. He approached her during the flight, despite the intervention of security guards, and was later held back by her manager. The man insisted on his YouTube channel that he had just wanted to hand a love letter to Nayeon.
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| Apink member Jeong Eun-ji / Courtesy of Play M Entertainment |
Play M said that the alleged perpetrator has been harassing the singer for more than a year since last March.
"Via the law firm Wooree, we filed a complaint against the alleged stalker to accuse him of violating the laws concerning minor offenses, among others," the company said in a statement. "Although we asked him multiple times to stay away from our artist, he did not stop stalking her and even came to her home (without permission). Given the fact that he has been inflicting severe damage on our star, we decided to take stringent legal action."
Under existing Korean law, stalking is categorized as a misdemeanor, so most stalkers are only punished with fines of up to 100,000 won ($88), even if they are found guilty. But under a new law that will go into effect on Oct. 21, stalkers may face more severe punishment ― up to three years in jail or 30 million won ($25,639) in fines.
The K-pop label added that it has been battling internet trolls, too.
"Some of them have already been prosecuted," it said. "We will continue striving to protect the rights of our artists."
Jeong debuted as part of Apink in 2011 with the album "Seven Springs of Apink." After dropping a string of hits with the group such as "Mr. Chu," (2014), Jeong made her solo debut in 2016 with the album "Dream." In 2012, she kicked off her acting career with the coming-of-age drama "Reply 1997."
This incident is not the first time that a K-pop star has reported stalking. In 2020, an alleged stalker hailing from Germany ― who is believed to have stalked Nayeon of K-pop girl group TWICE since December 2019 ― followed her onto a Korea-bound plane that departed from Japan. He approached her during the flight, despite the intervention of security guards, and was later held back by her manager. The man insisted on his YouTube channel that he had just wanted to hand a love letter to Nayeon.
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