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| Winter, a member of K-pop girl group aespa. Courtesy of SM Entertainment |
K-pop labels beef up security to cope with death threats
By Dong Sun-hwa
The K-pop industry has become the latest target for online threats of violent copycat crimes triggered by random stabbing attacks in recent weeks.
On Aug. 3, 22-year-old Choi Won-jong rammed a car into pedestrians outside a department store near Seohyeon Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, before attacking shoppers with a knife inside the building.
This random attack, which killed a woman in her 60s and wounded 13 people, is believed to be a copycat crime of the stabbing spree that took place on July 21. Cho Sun, a 33-year-old man, killed one man and injured three others outside Sillim Station in southern Seoul.
These incidents have led Korea to see a spike in the number of internet posts threatening to carry out similar crimes, with 119 people being caught for sharing them as of Friday, according to the police. And for no clear reason, K-pop stars and their staffers have also fallen prey to these threats.
Hanam Police Station in Gyeonggi Province revealed, Friday, that a man in his 20s ― whose identity has been withheld ― was caught for uploading a post online saying that he would kill nine staffers at SM Entertainment. SM is home to numerous K-pop acts including boy band NCT and girl group aespa.
The man insisted that he committed the act "in a fit of rage," as he felt like an SM artist ― a girl group member whom he has been following for 10 years ― did not like him back. He reportedly sent her social media messages to deliver his feelings. The police, however, believe his claim lacks credibility, as he was found to have mapped out a specific criminal plan.
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| HYBE headquarters in Yongsan District, central Seoul / Yonhap |
A few days before the incident, SM Entertainment reported an internet user to the police for posting a murder threat on Aug. 7, targeting aespa member Winter.
"Tomorrow, I will kill Winter, who will fly abroad," read the post. Winter and other aespa members were set to head for the U.S. on Aug. 8 to join the Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival.
SM asked the police for a prompt investigation and bolstered security to protect its singer. Thanks to its effort, Winter safely departed from Korea as planned.
"The police visited our company headquarters (in Seoul) to check out the security and safety conditions," the company added.
Another K-pop record label HYBE, which manages the Grammy-nominated boy group BTS, has closed the main entrance of its headquarters in Yongsan District, central Seoul, after a post forewarning of a knife stabbing was shared online.
"I will stab people in front of the HYBE headquarters," the post read. "I really hope Chairman Bang Si-hyuk will be there."
The police searched the neighborhood on Aug. 8-9 but did not find any suspicious people. They recently announced that they would take strict action against those uploading online posts preannouncing heinous crimes.
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