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| Son Heung-min erased a photo of himself with Jung Joon-young on Instagram. EPA-Yonhap |
By Ko Dong-hwan
English Premier League footballer Son Heung-min has ditched his cyber friendship with the singer/TV personality amid the growing sex scandal that has now ensnared a senior police official.
Son, the Tottenham Hotspur forward and South Korean national team captain, erased a photo of himself with Jung Joon-young on Instagram and unfollowed the singer on Mar. 14.
The photo showed the pair in a friendly mood, with Son smiling as he points at Jung next to him.
Son worked with Jung in a TV mock-documentary (also known as "mockumentary") "FC Entourage" on tvN last December, in which three football-crazy Korean musicians ― including Jung ― form a futsal team. Son and Jung are presumed to have built a friendship after meeting on the show.
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| This undated photo of Son Heung-min, left, and Jung Joon-young was erased from Son's Instagram site on Mar. 14. |
Jung was called in for question to Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency last week as police continued to investigate his filming and online distribution of sex videos featuring himself and more than 10 women. The clips, filmed without the women's consent, were shared in a Kakao Talk chatroom in 2015. Among the eight chatroom participants were former BigBang member Seungri and K-pop musicians from CNBLUE and Highlight.
Following the scandal, CJ ENM, which runs "FC Entourage" and its network, deleted all posts on the show's homepage including videos of past episodes.
Online news outlet OSEN said Son "turned his back on Jung who sent a shockwave through the public." Another online news channel Insight said Son "appears to have tidied up his relationship (with Jung)."
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| Jung Joon-young in a promotional poster for tvN's "FC Entourage." Courtesy of tvN |
About 30 Korean celebrities ― ranging from actors to musicians and comedians ― have stopped following Jung on social media.
Jung, 30, found fame by reaching the top 3 in the 2012 TV singing competition show "Superstar K: Season 4" on Mnet. He has been active in the TV entertainment scene, frequently appearing in variety shows and on talk shows.
Prosecutors and police questioned him in 2016 and 2018 regarding filming sex videos without the women's consent. He has not been arrested or indicted in either case.
SMPA questioned Jung on Mar. 14 and 17 while searching his residence, vehicle and his mobile devices ― known as his "golden phones" ― to find evidence of the allegations. The authority requested Monday an arrest warrant on him for violation of Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, ETC. of Sexual Crimes.
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