Big Hit Music Announces Strict Legal Actions Against Perpetrators Who Harmed BTS With Malicious Acts
Big Hit Music is taking legal action against individuals who infringed the rights and interests of BTS
On September 27th, BTS’s agency Big Hit Music posted a notice on the group’s official fan community platform Weverse, saying they are regularly initiating legal proceedings against perpetrators of malicious activities related to BTS, including defamation, personal attacks, sexual harassment, the spread of groundless information and ill-intentioned criticism.
Big Hit Music said, “We filed multiple criminal complaints with law enforcement agencies based on evidence related to acts infringing on the rights of the artists, including defamation, submitted by our fans as well as collected through our own monitoring.”
Big Hit Music has reportedly gathered evidence regarding individuals who repeatedly sent mails and packages to the artists’ residences, even causing harm to the artists’ families, and filed criminal complaints against them on charges of violating laws regarding stalking crimes (Act on Punishment of Crime of Stalking). As a result, the court has issued an interim restraining order and the prosecution is carrying out investigations.
Earlier in February, when the investigation was suspended and the prosecution of some suspects was rejected, Big Hit Music filed an objection against the decision and requested a re-investigation.
After being sent to the prosecution, the suspects were finally found guilty of insults and defamation against the artists and received legal punishment.
The agency said, “Among the defendants in this round of legal actions, there was an individual who repeatedly posted violent and offensive abusive comments on portal site news sections”, adding “This individual regularly engaged in dozens of cases of high-intensity malicious commenting across various articles. We have compiled all verified comments and filed criminal complaints against the individual.”
Lastly, Big Hit Music emphasized that they would continue collecting evidence, reports and taking legal responses against malicious postings related to BTS, saying “We will continue to adhere to strict measures and our policy of no settlement and no leniency to hold suspects accountable”.
The official statement from Big Hit Music is as follows:
“Hello. This is Big Hit Music.
We would like to provide an official statement regarding our legal response to actions that infringe upon the rights of BTS, including defamation, humiliation, sexual harassment, the spread of false information, and malicious criticism by malicious posters. We would like to update you on the key developments in this matter.
During this quarter, we have collected substantial evidence, including reports from fans and our own monitoring, to submit numerous complaints to law enforcement agencies. These complaints address acts that damage the reputation and rights of our artists, including defamation and humiliation.
In particular, we have consistently gathered evidence against individuals who repeatedly sent mail and parcels to our artists’ homes, causing harm to their families. We have submitted complaints under the Act on Special Cases concerning the Punishment of Stalking Crimes for violation of the law. As a result, we have obtained provisional restraining orders from the court, and the prosecution is currently conducting an investigation. We will continue to adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards stalking crimes that infringe upon the privacy and safety of our artists.
Among the individuals targeted for prosecution during the second quarter of last year, some suspects had their investigations suspended or were not indicted. We have contested these decisions by filing objections and requesting further investigations. As a result, after prosecution, some of these suspects have been legally punished for defamation and damage to reputation.
Additionally, among the individuals targeted for prosecution, we have included posters on the news portal site, Newsran, who repeatedly posted violent and derogatory comments. These posters engaged in a high volume of malicious comments on multiple articles, and we have compiled and submitted all identified defamatory comments for prosecution.
The collection of malicious posts and reports related to BTS continues, and we are consistently taking legal action. We want to emphasize that we are taking a strong stance against malicious posts targeting all members of BTS, including those who are currently fulfilling their military duties.
We are committed to making continuous efforts to eliminate illegal actions against our artists, even if it takes time. We will hold the suspects accountable without compromise or leniency and take strict measures against them.
We sincerely ask for your continued support and active reporting through Big Hit Music’s legal response account. We are always grateful for the dedication and love from BTS fans. Big Hit Music will continue to strive to protect the rights of our artists.
Thank you.”
Source: Daum
