Netizen punished for malicious posts about IU

IU, also known as Lee Ji-seun [NEWS1]

EDAM Entertainment representing singer and actor IU, whose real name is Lee Ji-eun, released on June 21 the results of the lawsuit it had filed against a netizen who has been “habitually posting insults, slander and malicious posts about Lee on social media,” stating that the court “sentenced [the netizen] to eight months of a suspended prison sentence with two years of probation.”

“As you can see, there will be no leniency or agreements when dealing with such violators of the law,” the agency said. “We will take strict measures against [any other] netizens who engage in similar acts.”

The agency explained in the statement that it had been collecting and providing evidence of posts about Lee by the netizen, identified as “A,” and filed a complaint.

“Through years of investigation, we were able to receive a ruling that A’s actions were indeed a violation of Lee’s rights, and A was sentenced to eight months of a suspended prison sentence with two years of probation and 180 hours of community service. A will also have to receive 40 hours of education on sexual violence on charges of violation of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communication Network Utilization and Information Protection (defamation) and other charges.”

“If A continues to engage in such acts even after the court’s ruling, we will make sure A is punished with a severe punishment,” the agency added. “The agency will make sure our artists' rights are protected.”

Lee has recently been busy promoting her new film “Broker,” directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, which premiered at the 75th Cannes Film Festival.

Lee debuted as a solo singer in 2008 at the age of 16. Her breakthrough song was “Good Day” in 2010, which showed her wide vocal range. Her other hits include “You & I” (2011), “The Red Shoes” (2013), “Twenty-three” (2015), “Palette” (2017), “Blueming” (2019), “Eight” (2020) and “Celebrity” (2021). In 2015, she began to take creative control of her music, and her fourth EP “Chat-Shire” contains music she wrote herself.

Lee debuted as an actor in 2011 in the KBS series “Dream High” and has starred in six drama series since. In 2019, she was cast in the Netflix film “Persona.”

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]