Private Conversation Content Disclosed in Open Chat Room
Charges Include Defamation and Indecent Act Using Communication Media
Han Seo-hee (29), who recently sparked controversy by revealing private KakaoTalk conversations with a famous male actor, has been reported on charges including using a communication medium for obscenity and defamation.
On the 7th, Attorney Kim So-yeon from the law firm Will announced that she submitted a complaint against Han Seo-hee to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on behalf of the accusers.
Previously, Han Seo-hee disclosed the real name of a male actor along with messages suggesting, "You don’t reply even though you became a 'Superstar (Suseu)'," "I’m sleepy now. Why don’t you reply quickly? I have to sleep alone in a hotel suite tomorrow, come," among other proposals. She also mentioned a specific media outlet known for paparazzi photos, saying, "Anyway, I have a tight grip on it."
On the 30th of last month, Han Seo-hee shared screenshots of her conversation with the male actor in a KakaoTalk open chatroom where she was active. The conversation quickly spread through social networking services (SNS). As the controversy grew, Han Seo-hee posted on SNS that "the KakaoTalk was fabricated (manipulated)" and explained that it was a staged act, then switched the account to private.
The complaint reportedly states that Han Seo-hee’s actions fall under violations of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes (using a communication medium for obscenity) and the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (defamation).
The content encouraging sexual relations caused sexual shame and disgust, and when replies were delayed, she threatened the male actor by asking, "Do you want to die?" which was enough to instill fear. Furthermore, it was claimed that "sharing this conversation in an open chatroom accessible to an unspecified number of people caused rumors to spread, resulting in irreparable damage."
Han Seo-hee gained public attention by appearing on MBC’s 'Great Birth' Season 3 and later prepared to debut as a trainee under a famous management company. However, in 2016, she was sentenced to three years in prison with four years of probation for smoking marijuana with Big Bang member T.O.P. During her probation, she was caught using methamphetamine and was sentenced to one year and six months in prison in 2021, was taken into custody in court, and was released after serving her full term last November.
Han Seo-hee also drew attention as a public informant related to the drug use of former iKON member B.I (real name Kim Han-bin). She claimed that Yang Hyun-suk, the CEO and producer of YG Entertainment at the time, threatened her by saying, "Killing you is nothing," to cover up the incident and forced her to retract her police statement. Yang was acquitted of retaliatory threats in the first trial but was sentenced to six months in prison with one year of probation in the appellate court.
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