AfreecaTV streamer seen with HYBE Chairman will pursue legal action against internet trolls

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AfreecaTV streamer seen with HYBE Chairman will pursue legal action against internet trolls

Published: 14 Aug. 2024, 14:41 Updated: 14 Aug. 2024, 14:42

Streamer Se Yeon [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Local video platform AfreecaTV streamer Se Yeon is preparing to take internet trolls to court following a viral clip featuring her and HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk, the streamer said Tuesday.

The clip, posted on “I am WalKing" — a Los Angeles-based YouTube channel introducing the city — on Aug. 7, shows Se Yeon, her sister and HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk crossing the street in Beverly Hills. Online users expressed anger over the video, inferring that the two were romantically involved and said the executive “has better things to do.”

As malicious comments and posts about Se Yeon have been continuing for a week, the streamer has asked the public to help her collect evidence that she can submit to court.

“Please send the link to the online posts with a PDF file attached to the e-mail address below,” the streamer said in a community post on the AfreecaTV platform yesterday. “It will be used to pursue legal action.”

She first responded to the video of her and Bang on Sunday on her AfreecaTV channel, saying that the encounter was purely casual.

“Bang just accompanied us to a restaurant that day,” said Se Yeon. “There was this one restaurant where it's really hard to get a reservation, and the chairman helped us get a spot. He said we can get a seat if we go together, and he gladly decided to accompany us there.”

She went on to explain that she knew already Bang through her sister and that Bang helped her identify an impostor posing as a HYBE official who contacted her online for “weird things that weren’t work related” last year.

Se Yeon is a streamer signed to the multichannel network Play Town. Her streaming career started in 2019 and she gained fame for posting a dance cover of the “Zero Two Dance.” She has also appeared on the Netflix entertainment show “The Influencer.”

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]