Female Celebrity's Crime? From Trespassing to Death Threats

30s Man Who Broke Into Soyeon's Residence Investigated by Police
Ji-yeon Requests Investigation After Receiving Murder Threats
Man Habitually Threatening Bae Da-hae Indicted and Detained

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Recently, crimes targeting female celebrities have been occurring continuously. Following an incident where a man visited the residence of Soyeon (34, real name Park Soyeon), a former member of the girl group T-ara, late at night, another member from the same group received murder threats and requested a police investigation.

According to the police on the 27th, the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul has booked and is investigating a man in his 30s, Mr. A, on charges of trespassing after he entered an apartment building in Gangnam-gu where Soyeon lives.

Mr. A secretly entered the apartment building through the front door around 10 p.m. on the 10th of this month. He then rang the doorbells of various units looking for Soyeon and was caught by the police who responded to a 112 emergency call. At that time, Soyeon was not at home and did not encounter Mr. A.

Soyeon is known to have been harassed by a stalker in the past, including receiving murder threats. Her agency, Think Entertainment, has stated that they will take a strong stance to protect her safety, and the police plan to investigate whether Mr. A had stalked Soyeon previously. Soyeon debuted with T-ara in 2009 and left the group after her contract expired in 2017.

Ji-yeon (28, real name Park Ji-yeon), a singer and actress also formerly of T-ara, has received murder threats and requested a police investigation.

Ji-yeon’s agency, Partners Park, released a statement on the 24th saying, "Ji-yeon has been publicly threatened with murder multiple times via Twitter and Instagram by an unknown individual. The agency is currently collecting all evidence and has formally requested a police investigation, prioritizing Ji-yeon’s safety." The case is currently filed with the Seongdong Police Station.

Previously, musical actress and singer Bae Da-hae was also subjected to habitual threats from Mr. B (29). From 2019 until the end of last year, Mr. B used 24 different IDs to post malicious comments about Bae on portal sites. He also repeatedly visited the venues of musicals and plays in which Bae performed to attempt contact and threatened her, demanding money citing the publication of his book as a reason.

Even during police investigations, Mr. B reportedly sent messages to Bae such as "It will end with a fine," and "Would 10 million won in settlement money be enough?" The Gunsan branch of the Jeonju District Prosecutors’ Office has arrested and indicted Mr. B on charges including violation of the Information and Communications Network Act, obstruction of business, and attempted extortion.