Dispatch is known as a news site that primarily targets top stars in the entertainment industry. They have exposed the dating news of many famous couples, such as Song Joong Ki – Song Hye Kyo, Hyun Bin – Son Ye Jin, Woo Bin – Shin Min Ah, Jennie – Kai, Taeyeon – Baekhyun, etc.
The exclusive photos published by Dispatch are usually taken in the evening at private locations such as outside their homes, inside cars, or in restaurants. The constant 24/7 surveillance of artists has led to criticism of Dispatch for violating privacy and intruding into the personal lives of celebrities.
In 2018, over 200,000 South Korean citizens signed a petition urging the government to shut down Dispatch due to its actions crossing limits and invading the privacy of artists.
The petition stated: “Dispatch has a significant impact on the entertainment media. Please remove this entity. Celebrities are also human beings. They have private lives they do not want to share with the public.”
Despite various opinions, the controversy surrounding Dispatch’s celebrity news coverage continues.
An anonymous reporter from a Korean entertainment magazine once shared: “All entertainment reporters are aware of the dating stories of stars in the industry. But Dispatch is the unit that gathers the best evidence, allowing them to always have exclusive news. Other newspapers won’t publish dating news without photo evidence. It’s an unspoken rule in the industry. It’s hard to describe when all reporters know about a secret relationship but can’t make it public.”
Dispatch has claimed that they do not target rookie or newly debuted artists. However, audiences believe this is a clever excuse, as they seem to spare rookies due to their lack of fame, which wouldn’t stir public interest.
While Dispatch promises not to expose stars at the peak of their careers, they have dealt significant blows to artists like Jennie, Seolhyun, Kang Daniel, Yoona, and others when they were at the height of their popularity.
In 2008, Dispatch revealed its first celebrity couple, actress Hyun Young and singer Kim Jongmin, were caught dating in a car. When questioned by the audience, Dispatch did not disclose how they obtained these photos. The newspaper claimed to have learned about Hyun Young and Jongmin’s relationship through a confidential source.
A Dispatch reporter revealed: “If a regular couple is filmed by someone, I don’t think they would be comfortable, and the same applies to famous couples. From that point on, I became more cautious and tried to shoot from a distance to avoid disturbing them, then requested the management company to confirm the status of their relationship.”
This explains why Dispatch always takes pictures from a distance, even though the resolution and image quality are not always guaranteed.
Some posts on Pann and X (Twitter) suspect that Dispatch hunts for news and then negotiates with the artist’s management companies. If negotiations fail, the relationship will be made public.
Therefore, the fact that artists from HYBE, such as BTS, Seventeen, and TXT, have never been exposed in dating news raises suspicions among the audience. “BTS is the top K-pop artist; it’s hard to believe that Dispatch does not follow the dating stories of the 7 members,” commented one viewer.
