#korean chatroom scandal

[bonbon-daily]

If any single member of bts/seventeen were to be connected to chatroom/deep fake thing, I think my trust issue will go beyond repair.

[99snse]

BANNED FCS ⸻ updated, 11/20/23

disclaimer: this list should not be taken as a matter of my own opinion. each individual listed has a source attached for your own education and should be carefully considered in all of your fc choices. if you feel as if any individual has been mistakenly listed here, please feel free to reach out to me privately to discuss the circumstances surrounding their placement. ultimately, i did not create this list as a means of causing negatively, but it is much more important that we hold each other accountable and i hope to provide a running list of fcs that would be inappropriate or otherwise problematic for usage.

BANNED FOR: ABUSE

BANNED FOR: SEXUAL MISCONDUCT

Kim Ji-soo (actor), bullying & alleged sexual misconduct (source)

Jung Joon-young, Burning Sun scandal (source)

Choi Jong-hoon, Burning Sun scandal (source)

Lee Seung-hyun (Seungri), Burning Sun scandal (source)

Lee Jong-hyun (CNBLUE), Burning Sun scandal (source)

Kim Hyung-jun, alleged sexual misconduct (source)

BANNED FOR: APPROPRIATION/RACISM

Wendy Son, perpetuating racial stereotypes (source)

Kwon Ji-yong, blackface to imitate Trayvon Martin (source)

Shin Dong-hee (Shindong), blackface to imitate Oprah (source)

Kim Kang-hoon (Yesung), blackface to imitate Nick Fury (source)

Lee Gi-kwang, blackface/perpetuating racial stereotypes (source)

Kim Jong-dae, blackface to imitate a racial caricature (source)

Yoon Bo-mi, blackface to imitate a racial caricature (source)

Jackson Wang, appropriation & ignorance of black protective hairstyles (source)

BANNED FOR: EXPRESSED DISCRIMINATION

Henry Lau, homophobia & transphobia (source)

Park Jeong-soo (Leeteuk), fatphobia (source)

Shin Dong-hee (Shindong), fatphobia (source)

Choi Si-won, homophobia & transphobia (source & source)

Kim Kang-hoon (Yesung), fatphobia (source)

Amber Liu, instances of expressed racial prejudice in response to police brutality (source)

Jessica Ho, allegations of assault (charges dropped), homophobia, usage of slurs (source & source)

BANNED FOR: GROSS/QUESTIONABLE BEHAVIOR

Kim So-won, "misunderstood" the significance of Nazi symbolism (source)

Wong Kun Hang, weird comments about dreadlocks (source)

Yong Jun-hyung, Burning Sun involvement (never prosecuted)

Roy Kim, Burning Sun involement (never prosecuted)

Eddy Kim, Burning Sun involvement (never prosecuted)

Kim Young-woon (Kangin), present in voyeurism chatroom (source)

Jeong Jin-woon, present in voyeurism chatoom (source)

Lee Chul-woo, present in voyeurism chatroom (source)

Son Chae-young, "misunderstood" the significance of Nazi symbolism & right-wing conspiracy group QAnon (source & source)

BANNED FOR: SUPPORT OF OPPRESSION/GENOCIDE

Liu Yifei, support of police brutality during Hong Kong protests (source)

Donnie Yen, support of Chinese Communist Party (source)

Fan Bingbing, support of Chinese Communist Party (source)

Jackson Wang, support of Chinese Communist Party & its use of forced labor in Xinjiang (source)

BANNED FOR: EXPRESSED DISCOMFORT WITH USAGE

Christian Yu

Park Sun-young (Luna)

Lee Ji-eun (IU)

BANNED FOR: MISC.

Kim Jong-hyun, passed away

Tany (Kim Jin-soo), passed away

Ahn So-jin, passed away

Go Eun-bi (EunB), passed away

Kwon Ri-se, passed away

Kim Dong-yoon, passed away

Seo Min-woo, passed away

Goo Ha-ra, passed away

Choi Jin-ri (Sulli), passed away

Moon Bin, passed away

Lee Ji-han, passed away

Im Na-hee, passed away

Park Soo-ryun, passed away

Jeong Joong-ji, passed away

Yoo Joo-eun, passed away

USE WITH CAUTION.

Jennie Kim, taking part in "The Idol"

Kim Min-gyu, general carelessness for perceived support of korean conservative party amid prior (unresolved) allegations of bullying, sexual misconduct, and misogyny (source & source)

Kim Tae-hyung, ignorance surrounding the cultural relationship between black hair & durags (source)

Lee Jeno, fatphobic comments (source)

Park Jisung, colorist & fatphobic comments (source)

Park Chanyeol, colorist comments (source)

[beautifulpersonpeach]

The SM-Jessica special? That's interesting. Do you really think there's something SM did to set up and blacklist MHJ the way they did for Jessica?

***

Lol Anon,

You might as well be asking me if water is wet. There's no need to even work to come up with a conspiracy, you just have to be aware of very recent history that is public information. I mean, think about it. JYJ from TVXQ remain effectively blacklisted 20 years later (even though they have made the most remarkable improvement in the last five years), while Yunho and Changmin maintain a thriving career and spotless reputation (despite occasional whispers on k-blogs that are promptly deleted); Kris Wu from EXO, when the allegations were first made against him, he pointed out how the first girl from the Chinese chatroom had obtained the highest clearance access to him that would've been impossible without ridiculously high financial backing (he's still a rapist so it doesn't matter, but still); you already know what happened to Jessica. There's a reason SM Entertainment has earned a reputation of being the absolute worst of all the top k-pop agencies in Korea, for the entirety of the company's existence.

More recently, during the EXO-CBX slave contract scandal, an anonymous staff blind from SM posted on gossip blogs asserted that Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin were extremely entitled and ungrateful fuck-ups who trampled on the other staff at SM - it was a massive and effective hit job (link to the blind here - translation here). In Korea there's chatter about how the change in sentiment against CBX due to that letter, was likely a factor in the trio quickly reaching an agreement with SM.

And then there's Min Heejin. Consider how she said when the allegations were first made, her response was that the pictures of "naked children" on her wall were a gift from a friend, that they weren’t even hers and that the claim she's a pedophile was completely absurd. Very normal and expected claims from someone who wanted to defend herself. Likely an excuse. What she didn't say though, was who that friend was. That was answered less than a week later when an SM employee (with a posting history spanning years and not a burn account), posted a blind that she was the one who presented the pictures to Min Heejin and even took it upon herself to hire help to hang up the pictures on her wall, as a present to MHJ, her dear friend, who she had a history of posting about (MHJ) as a bitch, a whore, and the parasite who stood in her way of advancing at SM... There was fairly normal chatter from the Koreans in the comment section of that post, but everybody understood what happened. The next day that post and the account that made it were deleted.

Lol.

Shinwha has been the only group to somewhat escape SM and remain fairly independently successful, but the company has also done everything to make sure that's not repeated for anyone else. Including Min Heejin. Who chose to work at HYBE, of all places. Remember that tomfoolery about the "Pink Bloods"? I promise you Chris Lee and several staff think in very tribal terms about their business culture. And this is something that's widely assumed and accepted on the k-side.

Of course, none of this information really makes it to the international side. Or people note it in bits and pieces that may or may not be properly translated or shown to carry the right weight. Either way, there's a natural information barrier between Korean and international fandoms, there's Korean fans of rival groups who wouldn't want this to spread, in favour of the current narrative against MHJ and it's easy to see how SM can use this to their advantage. Also, the competitiveness inherent to k-pop ensures that so long as NewJeans is the top girl group, they are deserving of the worst and most dehumanizing handicap in k-pop: the ick factor of pedophilia.

I mean, I saw in real time how k-pop stans were in love with NewJeans precisely up till the moment the pre-order numbers for their debut album was released and was on pace to break records set by any other debut at the time. The moment that happened people started looking for anything to detract from the group, there were even bullying accusations started for Minji randomly on naver but ofc it never gained traction because only a few hours later, an account that hadn't posted since February 2022 suddenly posted a a massive thread about how the pictures on Min Heejin's wall on her Instagram (which had been posted for months without incident) were actually proof she's secretly a pedophile, therefore, NewJeans should be boycotted, hated, and shunned or MHJ should abandon working with NewJeans. This is a narrative they will never let up because it's easy to use, extremely damaging, and cruel. It's why:

none of the groups Min Heejin worked on as Creative Director while at SM, such as SHINee, f(x), NCT Dream and NCT more broadly, Red Velvet, etc, are treated as 'created with pedophilia in mind' the way it's applied to NewJeans, even though they ascribe to MHJ every portion of responsibility for the song and artist, as though it's all her work;

Also, why is it that the whole team of people who worked with MHJ at SM, many with known public sordid histories, people whose choices would've certainly shown in the work as well - why aren't they awarded even a sliver of attention or responsibility? That's how we have people believing the lyrics for Ice Cream Cake by Red Velvet were under the direction of graphic designer and CD MHJ.... Like, seriously lmao. Going by her job description, her involvement would’ve began and ended in the styling and overall art direction of the group and MV. It's one of the most iconic MVs in k-pop btw.

even they admit that MHJ is singlehandedly responsible for creating our current idea of "concepts" in k-pop. N.B: the idea that a conceptual thematic for a group, debut, and comeback should be centered around one central idea - it was established and promoted by MHJ in SM which helped establish SM as a formidable company in the Big3. Most of the classics from SM were overseen by MHJ;

It's also why names like Park Jin-young, Yang Hyun-suk, and Yoo Young-jin are names you might prolly feel the need to google to be certain of who they are, despite three of them being three of the biggest names in k-pop, certified male creeps with known public histories of drooling over teen girls on camera while being the right-hand man for a guy wanted by Interpol as in the case of YYJ (and then debuting minor groups); disbanding their groups and having sex with them while underage and then later marrying them as in the case of YG, installing cameras in their bathrooms and then debuting a group like Treasure and BabyMonster; taking minors to R Kelly's house and then debuting them with his partnership as in the case of JYP, and then debuting Wonder Girls, Itzy, NMIXX with minors and questionable approaches... and yet none of these groups are expected to be boycotted to punish their 'creepy CEO'. Even though all three men are heavily involved in their companies and in managing their groups, including in creative direction, and they take ownership of that work... they’re not treated with the same venom left for MHJ, even their groups' works aren't judged as being the product of those men alone (a reasonable assumption), the way it's done for MHJ with NewJeans (an unreasonable assumption).

To hurt the opposing fandom and group is the point for a lot of fans here, unfortunately. And that’s why k-pop stans will continue to push the pedophilia label on NewJeans and MHJ. It’s something I said as soon as their pre-release order numbers dropped before debut. Just given the nature of the threat NewJeans poses to every girl group, *and* the fact they’re from HYBE, guarantees they will always be hated by majority of k-pop stans.

I do have to mention there's many honest to goodness earnest k-pop stans who think they're genuinely exposing a danger to society, and while they could be right, most of the allegations against MHJ simply do not hold up under intense scrutiny, by my standards at least. And even if she is a criminal and a freak, I wouldn't care anyway the way I don't care now for YYJ, YG, and JYP - bonafide groomers and creeps, managing their groups till now.

That's just the fact.

And y'all already know how I feel about Cookie lol.

[glowcel]

>Right now, South Korean women’s rights activists are trying to raise awareness of the case abroad by a change.org petition. Sadly, just as within their own country, the international media seem to be largely ignoring the case. It is surprising, as around the world, online sexual exploitation and torture of (mostly female) children and young women is growing. 

According to the Internet Watch Foundation which monitors and removes online child pornography, self-generated imagery (or “selfies”) now accounts for nearly a third of web pages featuring sexual images of children. They add that “of the self-generated material featuring girls – be it images or videos - most (80.5%) were aged 11 to 13 years”. >It is confirmed that more than 260,000 people have joined the chatrooms. Footages of women and girls getting raped are bought and sold like mere products. Female idols have literally been pushed to suicide for being mistaken as "feminists", https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-50051575 https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/female-k-pop-stars-face-criticism-feminist-behavior-8257777/ Heres another idol who got harassed and sent death threats for reading a book.

[fujoshimanifesto]

Being a woman in Korea must be crazy dont get me wrong I love kpop but how insane must it be for you as a woman to live in a country where the woman is a product… the female kpop idol lifestyle and what it perpetuates, insane anti feminist movement, Korean men, gender wage gap, chatroom scandals like no other, plastic surgery being normalized (common, even) like damn no rest huh

[kisshuhua]

My thoughts on HyunA marrying Yong Junhyung

So it’s became known for about a week or so that HyunA Kim will be marrying Yong Junhyung in October of this year and I have some thoughts though most are directed to peoples’ reactions. Now before I go on I’ll give a little backing for those not knowing of the scandal or the people involved. HyunA is a well known soloist and former member of so many groups that it would be pointless to mention any but 4Minute. Even before leaving the group though she had a flourishing solo career and tons of fans, myself included. But in 2024 she essentially through all of that away when she began publicly dating Yong Junhyung, another former idol group member.

The main part of the backlash she received was due to the fact that Junhyung was involved with one of the most well known controversies in kpop, the Burning Sun. To put it simply, the Burning Sun was a Korean nightclub investigated in 2018 for claims of sexually abusing women and using the nightclub as a ruse for it. These videos were filmed and shared through grpup chats by the involved parties and Yong Junhyung was in one of these chatrooms and even stated that at the time he didn’t find the crimes to be a big deal. To make matters worse he was good friends with Choi Jung Beom, an ex-partner of the late Gu Hara who exploited her by threatening to release revenge pornography of her which was revealed to be a factor in her suicide the same year. So if I’ve summed it up well enough, this guy is not a good person. So seeing HyunA start dating him earlier this year was not only confusing but disappointing. But now more shit has hit the fan with her announcing marriage to him.

I’m gonna make my point simple, I think the conspiracies about her being in an elaborate scheme or being pregnant with Junhyung’s baby are inane nonsense. I think she’s a grown woman who doesn’t care about what people think of her because that’s what she’s always marketed herself as. Of course this isn’t a good thing to do and no amount of idgafs will change that, but I can’t sit here with a straight face and tell you HyunA gives a fuck about morality at this point. I think she’s purely in this relationship and proceeding to tie the knot because she’s immature and sees it as no more than furthering her edgy persona.

Final thing I wanna say is I hate both Junhyung and HyunA because of this situation and withdrawn my support of her since earlier this year. Call me crazy all you want and say I’m too in a random person’s business but HyunA chose to open her mouth about dating Junhyung, from then on it became the whole world’s business.

[agentcable]

Taxi Driver 2 Ep. 11 to 14 "Black Sun"

The series is based on real-life heinous crimes committed in Korea and has received praise from viewers for its performances and storylines.

The episodes 11 to 14 are based on the real-life case known as the "Burning Sun Scandal".

Burning Sun Scandal

The Burning Sun scandal, also known as Burning Sun gate, was a 2019 entertainment and sex scandal in Seoul. The scandal involved several celebrities, including Korean idols of popular K-Pop groups, and police officials. It was the largest scandal to hit the K-Pop industry. The allegations of sex crimes have added to the country's "molka" epidemic, which refers to the online distribution of nonconsensual sex videos taken of women. The scandal has become political fodder, with parties arguing over how to handle it.

On January 28, 2019, MBC Newsdesk reported an alleged assault of a male clubgoer by a staff member at Burning Sun, a prominent nightclub in Gangnam, in November 2018. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency investigated the club for alleged involvement in prostitution, drug trafficking, and police corruption. On March 11, 2019, Seungri, one of the club's directors and member of the boy group Big Bang, resigned from the entertainment industry after being charged with sexual bribery. The scandal involved allegations of rape and spy cams. Singer and entertainer Jung Joon-Young confessed to secretly filming himself having sex with women and sharing the videos without their knowledge or consent in the Jung Joon-Young KakaoTalk chatrooms. He resigned from the entertainment industry on March 12, 2019.

SBS funE discovered videos and chat conversations related to the Burning Sun scandal. The videos and chats date back to 2015-2016 and involve Jung, Seungri, and acquaintances. The exposé of the chatroom immediately affected several celebrities, with more being affected as the case developed. Yong Jun-Hyung of Highlight and Choi Jong-Hoon of F.T.Island resigned from their positions on March 14. The agency for Lee Jong-Hyun of CNBLUE admitted his involvement on March 15 after allegations that he participated in the chatrooms.

Legal proceedings, related to the scandal continued into 2021. Some police officers were disciplined for their actions at the Burning Sun club. However, the two most high-profile cases resulted in acquittals.

During the trial, Burning Sun's CEO, Lee Sung-Hyun, testified that he had paid former police officer Kang to cover up an incident involving an underage clubgoer. Nevertheless, Kang's one-year prison sentence was overturned due to lack of evidence.

A senior police official, Yoon Gyu-Geun, was arrested for allegations of bribery and mediating favours for the Burning Sun club and others. However, he was found innocent at his first trial. This case was well-publicized.

Burning Sun's CEO, Lee Moon-Ho, was sentenced to one year in prison on habitual drug use, including ecstasy and ketamine in Gangnam clubs. Additionally, one of the club's promoters, MD Cho, was sentenced to four years and six months for drug use and smuggling.

Police conducted drug sweeps at entertainment venues due to public interest in the scandal. The sweeps yielded hundreds of drug-related arrests, with a large percentage involving ecstasy and GHB, a commong date rape drug. Cases of sexual assault and rape, as well as the filming of illegal videos during drug use, were also discovered.

Seungri's business associate, Yoo In-Seok, admitted to providing prostitutes to potential Japanese investors and received a suspended sentence of three years probation for embezzlement.

Yang Hyun-Suk, former CEO of YG Entertainment, admitted to illegal gambling and money transactions in Las Vegas casinos. He was fined, along with three associates from YG and YGX.

Seungri's case concluded in January 2022 in a military appeals court. He received a reduced prison sentence of one and a half years and a fine. The court found him guilty of nine charges, including habitual gambling overseas, illegal money transactions, prostitution mediation and purchase, instigation of violence, violation of the Specific Economic Crimes Act, embezzlement, sharing illicit photos, and a violation of business operations.

4 Years Later: Where are they now?

All of the convicted, except for one, have been released from prison.

Jung Joon-Young

Jung Joon-Young owned the main chatroom where illegally taken sex videos were shared. The scandal was discovered when Jung Joon-Young took his phone in for repair, and the chat was discovered.

He received a six-year prison sentence for gang sexual assault and for taking and sharing illegally obtained sex videos. However, his sentence was reduced to five years after he submitted documents expressing his regret. He is expected to be released in late 2025.

Choi Jonghoon

Choi Jonghoon, a former member of F.T.Island, was sentenced to five years in prison for participating in two different gang rapes. However, his sentence was later reduced to two years and six months after reaching a settlement with his victims.

The former idol was released from prison in November 2021. In January 2022, news agency "The Fact" shared footage of Choi attending a church service with his mother. The encounter quickly turned physical. Choi did not answer any questions about returning to the entertainment industry.

Seungri

Seungri participated actively in Jung Jonn-Young's chat rooms, where they shared illegal sex videos and rated the women they had sex with. He was investigated only for his participation in the chat room and reportedly shared only one photo he found online.

Seungri received a three-year sentence for nine charges, including prostitution, prostitution mediation, embezzlement, violating food safety laws, habitual gambling, and violating the foreign exchange law. Netizens were surprised when he was released after serving only 18 months.

Yong Jun-Hyung

Yong Jun-Hyung, a former member of HIGHLIGHT, was implicated in a scandal after admitting to viewing an illegal video shared by Jung Joon-Young. Although he acknowledged speaking inappropriately, he denied sending any illegal content himself.

Jun-Hyung released a new album "Loner" in November 2022 after leaving HIGHLIGHT in 2019. He remained out of the spotlight until then.

Lee Jong-Hyun

Lee Jong-Hyun, a former member of CNBLUE, admitted to participating in discussions about the women he and Jung Joon-Young had slept with, even asking for details about other women. Although he initially denied involvement, he later admitted to viewing the illegally filmed videos.

After departing from CNBLUE and completing his mandatory enlistment, Lee Jong-Hyun has remained out of the spotlight and deleted his social media accounts.

Roy Kim

Roy Kim was accused of sharing and viewing illegal sex cams. However, he was found not to be involved in the group chats that did.

After being cleared of charges, Roy Kim returned to music in 2020. He then enlisted in the Marines for his mandatory military service. In October 2022, he released his latest album.

Eddy Kim

Eddy Kim was charged with circulating obscene material related to Jung Joon-Young's group chat. The prosecution suspended his indictment after it was revealed that he shared a single photo from the internet in a different group chat.

Following the scandal, Eddy Kim refrained from posting on social media for almost two years. He now shares occasional updates.

Similarties between Burning Sun and Black Sun

There are certain parallels between Burning Sun and Black Sun. Let's examine eight parallels between Black Sun Taxi Driver 2 and Burning Sun.

Names and information about the offenders to the victims

There isn't much of a difference between Burning Sun and Black Sun's given names. Just that, even though the characters' surnames or designations differ slightly, they are similar.

For instance, "Mr. Kim" and journalist Kim Young-Min frequently assist harassed women. Ultimately, though, Kim Young-Min and "Mr. Kim" were taken into custody and charged with the abuse. However, Kim Do-Ki also had a comparable experience.

YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun-Suk and CEO Yang Mi-Kyung are two more figures that resemble each other. Each of the two CEOs is embroiled in a drug trafficking case. Just their full name and gender are mentioned.

Victor and Seungri are two other significant characters who share similarities. When translated into English, Seungri signifies victory. In Japan, he also goes by the stage name Victory, or V.I.

The club's name, logo, and the traits that separate Black Sunfrom Burning Sun

The club name also bears a striking resemblance. The scandal was dubbed Burning Sun in real life, after the club. Black Sun is the name of the club in Taxi Driver 2.

Both of their logos' details are fairly similar. Both Black Sun and Burning Sun have a circle as their emblem. The distinction is that Burning Sun's circle contains multiple tentacles. On the other hand, the image of a circle inside Black Sun gets smaller and smaller.

Furthermore, Black Sun's bottle procession scene—which is intended to be presented to VVIP guests—is fashioned after Burning Sun. A video of the event was captured and went viral in 2019.

GHB is the medication that is used.

The medication, known as Gamma Hydroxybutyrate, is also the same. The purpose of the drugs was to knock the rape victim out.

GHB consumption in Taxi Driver 2 allows users to unknowingly follow commands from other users. as Kim Do-Ki and the female victims both experienced.

Victor and Seungri are the owners of Black Sun or Burning Sun, respectively.

Victor's character is still another area of similarity. Seungri and Victor share co-ownership of the club.

Despite Seungri's initial denial of the accusations. Yoo Moon-Hyun is regarded as the owner of Black Sun while he is in front of the audience.

The group chat between Victor and Seungri

Victor and Seungri have a group chat, which is another similarity. In one scene, Victor was on a group chat with his friends and had booked a woman.

Victor's friends asked him to send a video through the chat. In contrast, a number of artists are involved in Burning Sun, including Lee Jong-Hyun, an ex-CNBLUE member, Choi Jong-Hoon, an ex-FTISLAND member, and Jung Joon-Young.

Sexual harassment incidents and the sharing of victim videos

A well-known case in Burning Sun involved sexual harassment and the sharing of victim videos. In Gangnam, there were some protestors up until International Women's Day.

While sexual harassment is also one of the primary cases in Black Sun. Through Windy, the actors select the woman they desire. Subsequently, Windy would combine GHB drugs with the victim's alcoholic drink.

Black Sun guards will escort unconscious victims to their purchasers. They are unaware that the influence of GHB is the reason behind their harassment.

Corruption within the police force

An additional instance of Burning Sun is police corruption. It is even possible to bribe certain authorities to enable them to commit crimes.

Police officers Jang Ji-Ho and Jo Min-Gun take bribes from the club while they are in Black Sun. They even managed to obtain a substantial quantity of drugs that had been seized, enabling Black Sun to resell them.

Suspects are punished while the case is being looked into nationally.

Suspects are punished while the case is being looked into nationally.In the end, the suspects in the Black Sun and Burning Sun scandals were found guilty. Even some well-known musicians were subjected to sanctions before being kicked out of the group.

Additionally, the Black Sun and Burning Sun case is being looked into nationally due to multiple police bigwigs' names. In Taxi Driver 2, Police Commissioner Park Hyun-Jo even faced discipline and a demotion from his position.

Commissioner General Min Gap-Ryong declared intentions to launch a national inquiry into the police in the real world. The investigation also looked into drug trafficking and nightclubs.

[maknaesdancersrappers]

so what's your take with this jaehyun in the club

first of all, SM’s statement said Jaehyun went out to a resto & bar, they didn’t mention him going to the club. second of all, korea handles the virus differently. yes, they practice social distancing; but they’re a lot more lenient now. plenty of koreans go out and socialize every night. i think the media is painting them irresponsible because they’re idols and it’s hella suspicious that all the idols involved have something coming up (also, please focus on the nth room scandal bc they’re so quick to reveal idols about this but not the celebs that participated in the chatrooms) the idols also voluntarily had themselves tested and came out negative. and they also met up a week prior the actual itaewon club case.

personally? yeah, i think it was irresponsible to go out during the pandemic, but then again, korea is on a way different league than the philippines and even america. i’ve watched countless korean vlogs where they still go out and meet up with friends, BUT every location they go to, cafe/resto/whatnots the establishment has hand sanitizers/require them to sanitize before entering, wipes down surfaces like tables and chairs after someone uses them, and so on. 

in the end, i still love jaehyun, im glad he’s actually meeting up with non-nct friends; i still think it was irresponsible to do so during the pandemic, but his actions arent gonna stop me from supporting him. he’s human, he makes mistakes, and he’ll learn from it. 

[psychicreadsgirl]

May 2020 Predictions - Kpop/K-entertainment

1. A flood of comeback announcements (which we’ve seen) and also debut announcements from new groups to new soloists  -> activities in Japan and in Korea

2. Possible announcement of some new survivor show for the summer/fall of 2020 (50% of chance happening) (Note: controversies/issues with this show will likely happen.)

3. More military enlistments (some that come too early for their age like even for 95 or younger) -> 90% happening for the 92ers born before June/July of 1992; 50% chance for the young ones born in 1995 and younger (those sent in that are younger are avoiding scandals) 

Later born 92ers will be sent around the summer/fall of 2020. BTS Jin at this rate will likely enlist right after the supposed Japanese comeback in July 2020, so around August - October 2020. BTS is trying to aim for a fall to early winter comeback in 2020 in Korea, but I see that there are many, many issues that will likely stop them from being able to come back. (That news of BTS Superstar being shut down is already a sign.) Jin may enlist earlier depending on how things go.

4. Some news of collabs with K-pop artists x Western artists or Kpop idols singing some cover song of Western artists or vice versa throughout May - June 2020

5. Announcement of some mixtapes/releases of cover songs of Korean artists - chances of some of them coming to fruition => not high. don’t get your hopes up.

6. A few acting debuts/announcements coming from May - June 2020.

7. A couple of scandals/rumors related to scamming/love/sex (70% chance happening)

8. 1 - 2 marriage announcements from May - June 2020 (60% chance happening)

9. 1 - 2 dating rumors/announcements from May - June 2020 (80% chance happening)

----

What has come true:

Joint kpop show between BigHit and Mnet scheduled for June 2020: https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20200508011300315 

Controversy regarding the new Bighit, MNET show: https://www.koreaboo.com/news/gi-dle-fans-land-name-new-reality-show/ 

VIXX’s Ken to enlist in July 2020: https://www.allkpop.com/article/2020/05/vixxs-ken-to-enlist-for-his-mandatory-service-in-july (VIXX’s Ken birthday: April 6, 1992)

AB6IX’s comeback announcement: https://www.soompi.com/article/1401002wpp/ab6ix-surprises-with-teaser-announcing-june-comeback

Former costars dating: https://www.allkpop.com/article/2020/05/former-drama-co-stars-actor-song-jae-rim-t-aras-jiyeon-reportedly-dating

Lee Yeonhee marrying: https://www.soompi.com/article/1400485wpp/lee-yeon-hee-pens-heartfelt-letter-to-announce-marriage

Shinhwa Junjin marrying: https://www.soompi.com/article/1400258wpp/shinhwas-jun-jin-announces-he-is-getting-married

TWICE’s album with Western artists: https://twitter.com/gabelopezsongs/status/1262394813623816193 

https://twitter.com/JYPETWICE/status/1262306942153719809

Scandals related to love/sex: https://www.koreaboo.com/news/reporter-unveiled-jung-joon-youngs-chatrooms-reveals-will-celebrities-filmed-hidden-cameras/

JYP and SM to debut new group this year: https://www.allkpop.com/article/2020/05/sm-jyp-both-preparing-to-debut-2-groups-from-their-respective-agencies

Yoongi releases mixtape: https://www.vulture.com/2020/05/bts-suga-drops-new-mixtape-d-2-daechwita-music-video.html

BTOB Ilhoon enlisted: https://www.soompi.com/article/1403058wpp/btobs-ilhoon-announces-enlistment-plans

Lisa being scammed by ex-manager

[cheryllovespink]

Gone Girl

Recently, I watched the movie "Gone Girl". Basically, it's a story about a troubled married couple, acted by Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike. The husband cheated on the wife he once loved, and as a form of revenge, the wife decides to frame her husband for her own murder. Although the movie portrayed the wife to be this crazy psychopathic female, I found her monologue intense and in a way relatable.

She talks about how women have moulded themselves to be ideal types for men, pretending to be this "cool girl". I feel ashamed to say this but I feel like I do the same as well. Trying to say the wittiest lines, trying not to sound needy or clingy, watching the coolest shows, looking for ways to have common interests, trying to have more depth to me as a person. It doesn't matter whether it is talking to guys I like or guys I just want to be friends with. Even guys I'm friends with would talk about the females in their lives and sometimes criticise certain things or traits they portray. I would find myself making a mental note to not do that.

While I was mulling over this movie and the monologues in the film, a scandal broke out in the celebrity korean pop world. There were several male singers who committed unspeakable acts towards women. They would film a woman without her knowledge, while she was half conscious, in the middle of a sexual act. After that, they sent the video in their chatroom and talked about women in such a crude, cruel, and emotionless manner. These are also the guys who were once beloved by their fans. They are the family, friend, or idol of someone else.

I started thinking about the reason why men and women are seen in such a different light. How does a man, who can value his relationship with his friends and family, treat women in such a cruel and detached manner? It is as if the man was living a double life. When he sees the females, he depersonalises them and doesn't see them as actual people, but more of sexual objects for him to use and degrade.

On the other hand, in the movie "Gone Girl", the wife was able to make the husband a scapegoat so easily because of the existing perceptions of what a male and female is like. A male is seen to be capable of doing horrible things to a female, and a female is usually seen as a victim, incapable of helping herself. Many people have said that the villain that Pike portrayed was so scary because of how easily she trapped the men with society's existing perceptions of them, and got away with it. Usually, I would like to think that I have a pretty objective impression of both genders. I like to talk to individuals and get to know them on the inside, instead of how they portray themselves to be on the outside. I actually went on a dating app to talk to people, even those who seemed standoffish and atypical, to see if they were capable of having a genuine conversation with me or of having the similar way of thinking as me. Not sure what I was thinking but I gave up on it by now just FYI. I was just being a dumb kid HAHA.

Anyway, my point is, in the end, I think it's not wrong to ignore these perceptions. I might be politically wrong but, I think men just naturally have the tendency to objectify women. I am always going to be mindful and careful about that. I used to trust that people, anyone, would have a good side to them, all I had to do was be genuine and they would do so too. But my experience on dating apps have made me realise that some people are just downright shitty. To be patient with them and try to dig a little bit deeper is just a waste of my time and emotions. I have tried to mould myself to be likeable by anyone that I talked to on the dating app whether or not I was interested in them or not, because I wanted to feel validated as an interesting person. Now, I think that's so stupid and I find myself so humorously naive.

My head hurts. This article sucks. Sorry for the messy flow and subject matter. I'll try to write better next time. HAHA.

[barkjunhee]

Reading into this Seungri scandal and it is honestly shocking how this is only hitting international news now when it has been in Korean media for 3 MONTHS. And the only reason its hitting international news is because of Seungri being an international celebrity, which is all the international articles are talking about- not the actual investigation which is so so so much deeper. This is about corrupt police, drug distribution and the planned (and executed) drugging and raping of women in Gangnam. 

For anyone interested in reading about this case (and I suggest you do before either defending or accusing Seungri) twitter user @f_fact_ has a very informative thread around some of the corruption (TW: it involves images of a murdered detective and videos of a man getting beaten).

If you would rather get news from a korean publication 국민일보 (Kukmin Ilbo/National people’s affairs) has an informative article with the timeline of events. I have tried to combine this with other articles I have come across (in english) to create the following:- 

Rough timeline (Nov 2018-Present): 

Patron Kim Sang-Kyo gets beaten by Burning Sun Director, staff and police force. Kim breaks 3 ribs and is later hospitalised. Police claim that Kim was harassing women inside Burning Sun. Police also deny beating Kim, and declare there is no CCTV footage available. (eng article)

CCTV footage of Kim getting beaten is found/revealed. Those filing charges of harassment against Kim are found to be Burning Sun employees/affiliates. 

Kim takes his assault public and petitions the blue house. The assault took place in 24th November, Kim went public on 14th December. Investigations into 1 & 2 lead to-

Burning Sun is suspected of distributing illegal drugs, and drugging women so that men can rape them. Investigations continue. 

Burning Sun director is fired over Kim beating and current CEO, Mr Choi, publicly apologises to Seungri. Mr Choi distances Seungri stating that he is no longer involved in management, having stepped down in preparation for his enlistment (eng article). A separate dispute regarding CCTV footage of a woman being dragged out of the club claimed that Seungri had resigned in mid-January 2019 (eng article). He also resigned from his Ramen franchise during this period (eng article)

Seungri is accused of procuring women for potential investors. Kakao talks believed to have been Seungri’s from 2015 show him arranging women for foreign investors.

Seungri denies knowing about the management of Burning Sun, and states that the chat is fabricated. Seungri volunteered for drug testing, results were negative. 

Police charge Seungri so that they acquire warrants to search his properties and communications. 

Seungri ‘retires’. Following an investigation into YG after a suspicious number of documents appear to be disposed. YG claim this is part of their routine quarterly clean-up. A song-writer has since suggested he was kicked out. (eng article 1, eng article 2)

Evidence is found of celebrity chat where Jung Joon-Young shared hidden camera footage of women with Seungri and others (including celebs) who would rate/review them (eng article/Kukmin Ilbo article). It also included discussion of rape (eng article).

Police confirm Seungri’s 2015 chat and the celebrity chatrooms are not fabricated (korean article)

Police corruption revealed. Investigation into the police officer that assaulted Kim reveals that despite 122 reports against Burning Sun, only 8 arrests were ever made. Burning Sun CEO Mr Choi is revealed to have been a member of the Gangam Police development committee.

Jung Joon-Young admitted to filming and sharing hidden camera footage in a public apology (eng article).

This was all preceded by the death of Lee Yong-joon who was believed to have been looking into a Gangnam club. His death was ruled a suicide despite evidence of murder. The case was closed/buried.

It should also be noted that the main journalist investigating this is the same one that exposed President Park Geun-Hye’s corruption which led to her impeachment. This investigation has been drawn out due to the believed corruption of the police force, and is being looked into by a separate distrct (Seoul Met). 

In addition to the above charges, Yang HyunSuk (YG) and Seungri are also suspects of tax evasion (eng article). 

Please note that all this is based on media coverage and some details may not be accurate due to mis-translations. 

[monstress]

any korean variety show recs?

alright so saddle up because this is long

 for new watchers who know next to nothing about the korean entertainmentindustry, wants to learn more abt culture:

abnormal summit, esp s1. group of semi-diverse expat panel discussculture/issues and how it pertains/compares to south korea and their owncountries. also ngl some of the panels are hot so shoutout to sam oykere anddaniel from australia.

first time in korea. changing guest of long-time expats bring their friendsover to south korea to experience the culture for the first time. you getrambunctious friend shenanigans and crash course of interesting places to visit+ eat.

korean food table. long-ass running, well-beloved food show. im hungry.

for new watchers who want to get into it because of the hallyu wave:

x-man. the start of it all. fixed members and guests play games and try tofigure out who is the spy among them. the precursor to running man. it endedyears ago but it’s LEGENDARY. i can’t tell u how many clips from some eps thatare still being played on other shows today. see your favorite stars at theirmost humble of beginnings. introduction to the dominating MCs of today: yoojaesuk and kang hodong.

happy together s3 (the sauna version). the only talk show of its kind withequal number of male and female mcs (sad ik). funny as hell, even withnon-celebs guests. way back when even jun hyun moo, the MC with the most showson his belt right now, was a nobody and made his bread and butter dancing toshinee’s Lucifer. great talking segments which i’m sad they got rid off in thelater iterations.

strong heart. a talk show where celebs share interesting stories from theirlives. if you can manage through kang hodong’s overly boisterous MC style,there are some absolute gems from this show but imo just watch based on theguests. also lee seunggi!

knowing brothers. popular talk show with a school-like setting. imo watch it based on the guests, again if you can manage through kang hodong lmao

i can see your voice. celebrity guests try to guess if a person is a good singer or tonedeaf.already multiple versions in asian countries. honestly surprised americansdon’t get in on this.

masked singer. a panel try to guess who the voice from an unknown, masked singer belongsto. i don’t know why they made an american version since the formula is onlythrilling with a tight-knit industry but ok!

weekly idol. if you’re into kpop, surely you’ve seen random dancing segmentsby now. watch it based on who you stan i guess.

doesn’t care about idols, just want to have fun:

new journey to the west. cast travels to a country and needs to win gamesfor food/sleeping place/dragon balls. fuckinnnn??? hilarious?? established cast and production team chemistry (from their previous show, 1night2days) so even the pilot doesn’t have new cast awkwardness. stellar editingand ingeniously entertaining yet simple games. they’re not afraid to rip eachother apart (some of the members’ have some…interesting past which is fun tobring up).

i live alone. a clip show of an average day of celebs who live alone. while it does haverotating celeb guests, the major draw of the show is the permanent panelmembers established in 2017, esp park narae (who is a legitimately talentedentertainer and tbh deserves better! you’ll get what i mean when u watch theshow!!).

omniscient interfering interview. clips of daily lives of celebs and their managers (who in the industry arealways in the shadows but now it’s their time to shine). wildly popular thateven most of their managers have shot for commercials. watch for the fooddescriptions from lee youngja which was a career-defining talent for her thatshe won the channel’s top entertainment award. the first woman to have everdone so across all three major channels.

infinite challenge. this show has a LOT of episodes but imo watch these specials: the ballroom dance eps, the summer music festivals, bobsleigh challenge, calender model challenge, extreme part-time job, history x hip-hop, the jack black eps, saturday saturday i am a singer, and the (very incredible, very powerful) express delivery special. iconique.

running man. i’m amazed that this show is still airing. the choi minsoo eps and sherlockeps are one of the show��s stand-out. again, if you’re into the cast chemistry,check this out.

2 days 1 night (s1, skip to s4). where the new journey to the west’s cast chemistry and production team isfortified! season 1 was very popular but it ended because the director wantedto pursue his studies. season 2 and season 3 tried to capture its magic with new casts and directors but it just wasn’t the same. when season 4 came ploddingalong, people thought it’ll be canceled soon enough. the newest director was amentee of the original director though and with great luck in the new cast, season 4was herald as the show’s comeback. the ‘no smoking’ episode was brilliant. edit post chatroom scandal: from the bottom of my heart, don’t watch s4 because of one member who is an honest-to-god piece of shit.

what on earth??. an underrated show! a limited series of four men who embarks in a dangerouscross country trip. the first few eps was set in a Qatar desert, the next inthe wetlands of Scotland. educational, good chemistry btwn the members, sharpediting. also not gonna lie part of the reason i did watch this was for ji jinhee. sue me i was in a jtbc misty withdrawal! shares the same director as 2d1n season 4!

sister’s slam dunk. a rare show with an all-female cast with the premise of fulfilling eachmember’s dream with the help of the other members. honestly just watch seasonone for min hyorin’s dream of debuting as an idol (hence dragging in the othermembers too, much to the chagrin of the older members). if you like thechemistry between members enough, stick around! the cast is funny andcharismatic and it’s just (sniffs) i love women! i still bop to the songs onthe regular too.

doesn’t care about guests, just want to relax (my fave kind):

lee hyori’s bed and breakfast. popstar lee hyori and husband opens up their home as a bread and breakfast. depression? cured! streamit on netflix!

little house in the forest. this show is glacial…in the best waypossible. it’s like an ingmar bergman film. honestly best to watch when you’rein bed ready to sleep

youn’s kitchen. legendary actress youn yeo jung opens a restaurant in a foreigncountry with season one in indonesia, season two in italy. idyllic af.

hodong’s kitchen. a spinoff show with the cast from new journey to thewest (they won a bet that if they win a game, their wish is to shoot a showlike youn’s kitchen since they share the same director). if you like the njttwcast and want to see them run a small restaurant, here’s your show!

blind date cafe. what it says on the can. blind dates are done in a cafe withwaitservice that consist of musician lee juck, actress yoo inna,comedian yang sehyung and sf9 member rowoon. it’s very…cishet lmao buti love yoo inna and will watch her wait for paint to dry. some of the couplesare EXTREMELY valid tho (if anything, watch for the webtoon artist andchildrens horror book author! i STAN their love!)

coffee friends. actors set up a cafe. fulfill your coffee shop au daydreamwith yoo yoon seok here!

may food bless you. a team of close female friends that consist of actress hwayeong and comedian lee youngja, song euni, and kim sook gives advice and suggest food to aid for submitted concerns while having a meal. a great show to watch while having dinner.

note: these shows…aren’t perfect. lemme be upfront that there can be elements of casual -isms in them (the relaxing shows are generally okay tho) and i’m just gonna leave it at that.

[transpondster]

Seungri is denying charges of brokering prostitution. But in statements to the press, Seoul Metropolitan Police say an investigation into his Kakaotalk messages (Kakao is South Korea’s dominant messaging platform) found evidence of “pimping” — they claim he was not only offering different types of women to investors, but he was part of a separate group chat with the other star, Jung. 

 That’s where the details get more sordid. Police say the near-dozen participants in the Jung chatroom were sharing hidden camera footage of sex with drugged and unconscious women. Korean broadcaster SBS showed the leaked text exchanges, which include Jung responding to a video of one unconscious woman by texting in Korean, “You raped her, LOL.“ 

Korean wire Yonhap reports Jung is under investigation for secretly recorded and shared videos of his own sexual encounters with at least 10 women he filmed between 2015 and 2016. 

 Jung, who rose to fame on a Korean equivalent of American Idol, is cooperating with police and released the following statement: 

"I admit to all my crimes. I filmed women without their consent and shared it in a social media chatroom, and while I did so I didn’t feel a great sense of guilt… More than anything, I kneel and apologize to the women who appear in the videos who have learned of this hideous truth as the incident has come to light.

Contrast with how famous and wealthy Americans respond to crimes and scandals, invariably denying any involvement, blaming the victim, and claiming whatever they did isn’t really wrong in the first place.

[tiptoe-ing]

Burning Sun

© Ed Jones via Getty

Sex, Drugs and Tax evasion - The Scandal Which Broke The Industry

This cases was revealed in 2019, and was ongoing until recently. It is the largest scandal to have hit the K-Pop industry to date and it involved numerous Korean celebrities and even police officials.

There's a lot to unpack and this case unraveled extremely quickly, so let's get started.

Who does this involve? Seungri of Big Bang, Yong Junhyung of Highlight, Choi Jonghoon of F.T Island, Lee Jonghyun of CNBlue, as well as Jung Joonyoung, former artist and entertainer, Yang Hyunsuk, YG Entertainment's former CEO and many more artists and company CEO's and officials.

This case became so big because, for one it involved very big and powerful celebrity names, but also because South Korea have a huge problem with "molka", which is the Korean word for hidden cameras. These hidden cameras are then used to distribute non consensual videos of women.

Club Burning Sun was a well known club where many celebrities and officials frequented, as well as Seungri being the publicity director.

In early 2019, it was reported that an assault had taken place. This gathered attention to the club as it was well known that Seungri was one of the directors. This lead to YG Entertainment, Seungri's then company making a statement that Seungri's personal businesses were completely unrelated to the company. Later on, Seungri went to apologise on his social media, claiming he had low level involvement in the club and was only there to promote it - this was later proven wrong, and Seungri had a way larger part in the club than he initially claimed.

Simultaneously, Dispatch revealed chats among other Burning Sun staff which discussed date rape as well as drugs.

A week or so later, another KakaoTalk (like WhatsApp in Korea) chat which dated back to December 2015 was revealed, where Seungri had allegedly planned to bride investors with prostitutes. The other members of the chat were Choi Jonghoon, CEO Yoo Insuk and a Burning Sun employee, who was told to find the prostitutes. Statements claiming these were false were made.

More celebrities were also revealed to have taken part in chatrooms where obscene photographs and videos were distributed - all of them were summoned to be questioned by the police.

Over the next month, Seungri as well as other suspects were questioned by the police. Other reports of similar cases were revealed, meaning this case became even more complex and lengthy.

It almost became like a chain reaction which uncovered more issues of celebrities involved in sex scandals, drugs, tax evasions and many more crimes dating years back. It really showed how corrupt parts of the industry is, and how they really use their power and money.

What happened to the mentioned people?

The celebrities contracts were terminated, and CEO's stepped down.

Seungri, was indicted on charges such as organising prostitution, habitual gambling, and illegal foreign currency trade in January 2020.

Jung Joonyoung was sentenced to 6 years and Choi Jonghoon to 5 years in prison for their involvement and rape.

Yong Junhyung and Lee Jonghyun admitted to watching content spread by Jung Joonyoung but weren't sentenced as they were deemed only witnesses.

Yang Hyunsuk stepped down as CEO of YG Entertainment.

If you are interested in this case and want further information, please visit Billboard, where you can find a detailed and dated timeline of the scandal.

Why was this case so shocking?

For obvious reason, this case would be a shock no matter who was involved. However, the names involved in this case were so well known and held the hearts of the public, making it more shocking. The people involved, like Seungri, were well known for being good people and involved in many charities.

It really serves as another reminder that fans and the public really do not know who their idols are. But also shows how different their idols personalities can be due to how they are marketed.

Sources:

BBC (2019) ‘K-pop stars Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong-hoon sentenced for r*pe’, BBC, 29 November. [Online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-50596943 [Accessed 15 March 2021]

Burning Sun’s Wikipedia page, [Online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_Sun_scandal [Accessed 15 March 2021]

Ed Jones via Getty via the Interpreter. 2019. [Online] Available at: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/burning-sun-scandal-torched-south-korea-s-elites [Accessed 15 March 2021]

Herman, T. Kelly, C. (2019) Burning Sun Scandal: A Timeline of Allegations, Arrests and Involvement of Several K-Pop Stars [Updated], Billboard, 24 March. [Online] Available at: https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/k-town/8503818/burning-sun-scandal-timeline-seungri-jung-joon-young [Accessed 15 March 2021]

[joshuajacksonlyblog]

South Korean Crypto Exchanges Aid Police in Child Porn Investigation

South Korea’s four major cryptocurrency exchanges, Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit, reportedly stated that they would support the local police in investigating the so-called “nth rooms” phenomenon, which turned into a nation-wide scandal. Crypto Exchanges Reportedly Said Celebrities Were Users For years, dozens of South Korean middle school girls, and sometimes boys, were filmed performing violent sexual acts and self-harm. The videos were then shared through Telegram chat rooms in exchange for payments made in cryptocurrency. The Korean police found dozens of victims since the videos often displayed girls’ names and addresses. After more than 5 million Koreans signed petitions to name the man who led the group that blackmailed girls and created the Telegram groups, the police decided to reveal his identity. The name of the 24 year old criminal is Cho Ju-bin. The police also revealed that over 10,000 people used the Telegram chatrooms, with some paying over $1,200 in crypto for gaining access. So far, the police know about 74 people, including 16 minor girls, who had been exploited. Elsewhere, reporters of local media agency Kookmin Ilbo discovered about 25,000 users across 30 such Telegram chat rooms. Other estimates from local media claim that there were up to 300,000 paying customers using similar chat rooms. As he was moved away from a police station in Seoul, Cho said: I apologise to those who were hurt by me. […] Thank you for putting a brake on the life of a devil that could not be stopped. Nevertheless, he didn’t comment when reporters asked if he admitted to the allegations. He is charged with abuse, threats and coercion, and violating the sexual abuse act, the child protection act, and the privacy act. Although the police haven’t confirmed it yet, there are reports that a local crypto exchange traced the crypto transactions and found out that some of the fee-paying members were popular artists, professors, sports celebrities, and startup founders and company CEOs. Who is Cho Ju-bin and How Did the Chatrooms Operate? The child porn suspect is a 24 year old man nicknamed “baksa,” which translates as “doctor” or “guru.” He managed the Telegram chat rooms where videos of child abuse were shared in exchange for payments. Cho charged the viewers in crypto, which made it difficult for the police to trace and shut down the chat rooms. However, given that South Korean law requires all crypto exchange clients to pass through KYC/AML verification procedures, the platform could help authorities find members and understand the magnitude of the incident. So far, the police have tracked down 124 individuals related to the case. Cho and 17 others have been detained. Korean newspaper, Kookmin Ilbo, said that each of the eight “nth rooms” shared videos from three to four girls who had been blackmailed. The girls were lured by chatroom operators who promised modeling or escort jobs. Crypto Has Previously Been Praised by Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein While it’s not the problem of the crypto space, it is not the first instance when criminals prefer or praise Bitcoin and its brethren. Billionaire and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who was in the middle of a sex slave scandal that involved sex trafficking among many other horrific crimes, praised Bitcoin and the technology underpinning it. Interestingly, last year, MIT’s Media Lab director Joichi Ito was forced to resign after the New Yorker revealed that he attempted to hide financial contributions from Epstein. But besides managing MIT’s lab, Ito also set up the Digital Currency Initiative (DCI) at MIT, helping Bitcoin go through some of its most difficult days in 2015. At the time, when nonprofit Bitcoin Foundation experienced “funding constraints,” the DCI offered full-time positions to Bitcoin core developers, including Gavin Andresen, Cory Fields, and Wladimir van der Laan. Do you think that all crypto exchanges should get clients’ personal details? Share your thoughts in the comments section! Images via Shutterstock from Cryptocracken Tumblr https://ift.tt/3dwK9nt via IFTTT

[bigyack-com]

K-pop star Jung Joon-young jailed for six years for gang rape, spycam crimes - music

South Korean K-pop singer-songwriter Jung Joon-young was convicted Friday of gang rape, as well as secretly filming and distributing illicit sex videos of his partners, and jailed for six years.Jung and Choi Jong-hoon, a former member of boy band FT Island, were found guilty of gang-raping two different victims on two occasions in 2016.Separately, 30-year-old Jung was also convicted of filming himself having sex with other women without their knowledge and sharing the footage 11 times without their consent.It is the highest-profile example of an epidemic of spycam crimes in South Korea, which have prompted widespread anger and seen women demonstrating in Seoul, chanting: “My life is not your porn”.

South Korean singer Jung Joon-young, along with Choi Jong-hoon, a former member of boy band FT Island, has been found guilty of gang raping two victims on two occasions in 2016. ( REUTERS ) Jung distributed his videos in mobile chatrooms with recipients including fellow K-pop star Seungri of BIGBANG, who has been accused of illegal gambling in connection with a sex and drugs scandal.Jung was jailed for six years and Choi, 29, for five, Yonhap news agency cited the Seoul Central District Court as saying. “Jung and Choi took part in gang rape of victims who were intoxicated and unable to resist,” the verdict said, rejecting the defendants’ claim the sex was consensual. “It is hard to fathom the extent of suffering the victims must have gone through.” The defendants had perceived the victims only as “sexual objects” to be exploited, it added, and “a heavy punishment is inevitable given the gravity of offences”.Also read: Rishi Kapoor says actors should focus on building minds: ‘Look at Ranveer, Vicky, my son. None of them have dole-shole’Both men broke down in tears when the sentences were announced.Jung rose to fame in 2014 when he came third in the audition show Super Star K and had a number of solo hits before the scandal emerged in March, when he announced his retirement.Known as ’molka’, spycam videos are largely made by men secretly filming women in schools, toilets and elsewhere, although the term can also be applied to clandestinely-shot footage of consensual sex. In the conservative South, women who appear in such videos will feel deep shame despite being the victims and face the threat of ostracism and social isolation.Around 5,500 people were arrested for molka offences last year, 97 per cent of them men, according to police data.Follow @htshowbiz for more Source link Read the full article