Idol Death Threats: A Growing Concern for NewJeans, aespa’s Winter, IU and Others

A death threat targeting NewJeans has reemerged after a prolonged period of time. On June 24th, a post titled “I purchased this for the NewJeans concert”in an online community caught a lot of attention. The post included a photo of a knife and a disturbing message, stating “I plan to stab each member when they exit their van.”

Upon noticing the post, fans promptly lodged a complaint with the police and reported it to ADOR, the agency representing NewJeans. It is suspected that the knife featured in the post was acquired from an e-commerce website, and the post has since been removed.

There is uncertainty surrounding whether the netizen had intended to carry out the crime, but there is a widespread demand for severe consequences for the individual who issued death threats against NewJeans. In response, ADOR announced their stance on the 25th, stating that they are working with the Japanese concert organizer to enhance safety measures. Additionally, the Korean police are currently conducting an investigation into the incident.

Winter from aespa had previously experienced death threats online before the debut of NewJeans. Last year in August, a post was made threatening to harm her while she was traveling abroad for a scheduled event. At the time, aespa was preparing to attend a festival in the US. When the threatening post was brought to their attention, the airport provided extra security personnel for the safety of the girl group. SM Entertainment, aespa’s agency, also announced, “We have taken legal action against the individual responsible for the post by reporting them to the police.”

Singer IU was also targeted with a death threat, resulting in police being dispatched to both her agency and home for investigation. In a similar situation, BTS’s Jimin received three death threats while in the US between 2017 and 2018. Other artists, such as IVE’s Jang Won-young, TWICE’s Mina, Apink’s Son Na-eun, and first-generation idol Baby V.O.X’s Kan Mi-youn, also faced the challenge of receiving threatening letters stained with blood and containing razor blades.

Death threats involving weapons have been ongoing for some time, and making posts implying a death threat can result in charges such as attempted murder and making threats, as stated by the current law. Additionally, if the police are called in due to threatening posts, a charge of obstruction of duty may also be applied.

To date, there has been no known instance of individuals facing legal consequences for making death threats against idols. Even if they were apprehended, the public remains unaware of any subsequent actions taken. In reality, only minor punishments have been enforced, rather than charges of attempted murder, causing the public to demand stricter penalties even for posts that may be deemed as jokes without any intention of actually carrying out the crime.