BLACKPINK's agency have asked the police in South Korea to investigate those who leaked bandmember Jennie's personal photos online.
YG Entertainment, the K-pop group's agency, released a statement on Monday revealing that they have enlisted the help of police to find those responsible for leaking private photos that have fuelled speculation Jennie is dating V from BTS.
"The recent mass production of rumours, accusations, personal attacks, sexual harassment, and invasion of privacy sparked by the personal photos have been occurring indiscriminately, so we felt a sense of responsibility, making it difficult for us to overlook this any longer," they wrote. "YG is taking strong legal action against posts that are tarnishing the character and reputation of our agency’s artist."
YG reps explained that they have filed a complaint for defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act, violation of the prohibition of illegal information distribution, and obscene use of communication media.
They added, "(The) photos that were circulated online were illegally released, regardless of the intentions behind them, and without the consent of the individual involved."
YG officials plan on taking "all possible legal action without any leniency to prevent further damage in the future", and asked fans to refrain from sharing the pictures, noting that it is an offence to do so.
They did not confirm which snaps they were referring to, however, several of the photos shared online appeared to show the South Korean pop stars dining together.
According to the BBC, two accounts connected with sharing the images have been suspended.
YG's statement comes days after BTS' label, Big Hit Entertainment, announced on Thursday that they had filed a criminal complaint against an unidentified individual who has been spreading "false information" and "the same ill-intentioned rumour" on multiple platforms. They did not share details about the posts.
