The South Korean police have been asked to look into how Jennie Kim, a K-pop star private, ’s images got online.
It comes after the Blackpink star was seen having dinner with BTS member V in pictures shared on Twitter and Telegram.
There have been rumours about the singers’ relationship.
According to Blackpink’s management company, YG Entertainment, Jennie has been the focus of “personal insults” and “sexual harassment” as a result of the leak.
In a statement, the organisation said that it had asked the police to investigate “the initial distributor” of the photographs and that it would “take all relevant legal steps without any mercy to prevent any damage in the future.”
Access to two of the accounts that were used to distribute the images has been suspended.
YG has not stated which images it is referring to, but other images that seem to depict Jennie and V (actual name Kim Tae-Hyung) sharing a meal have gone viral online.
One leaker said that the pictures were initially posted on a personal account with the description “You’re my other half,” which may have been authored by Jennie or V.
None of the images is sexual, even though one headshot allegedly depicts Jennie in the bathtub.
BTS’s management firm, Big Hit Music, has filed a second criminal complaint for what it considers to be defamatory tweets, including “false information” and “ill-intentioned guesses,” but not mentioning the photographs of V and Jennie directly in their justification.
The South Korean entertainment industry has recently started to take a harsh stance against leaks and rumours.
People who post offensive or defamatory comments online can be sued under the country’s defamation laws. If it can be shown that their comments hurt someone else’s reputation, even if they were truthful, they may still be found guilty and punished.
According to South Korean law, which also gives individuals a legal right to their image, anyone who publishes leaked photographs without authorization may face legal repercussions.
Blackpink’s album Born Pink topped the charts in the US and the UK last month, while BTS recently announced a break to concentrate on other projects.
