Around US Entertainment has announced that it will be taking legal action against false rumors about HIGHLIGHT.
Several days ago, a Korean news outlet reported that an unnamed K-pop singer (referred to as “A”) allegedly had a child with a former girlfriend. The report claimed that the child was born in 2022 and that “A” is providing a certain amount of financial support.
Amidst online speculation about the identity of “A,” rumors began spreading about a specific member of HIGHLIGHT.
On February 21, Around US Entertainment firmly denied the rumors, stating that “the groundless information currently being spread online is absolutely not true.”
The agency also announced that it would be taking legal action against defamation of the members by filing both a criminal complaint and civil lawsuits.
Around US Entertainment’s full statement is as follows:
Hello, this is Around US Entertainment.
We recently confirmed that the HIGHLIGHT members are suffering serious damage because of groundless falsehoods being spread on social media and online communities.
Numerous fans have already emailed us PDF screenshots and URLs related to this.
First, we are letting you know that the groundless information currently being spread online is absolutely not true.
This kind of spreading of falsehoods is considered defamation under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc. and the Criminal Act, and by damaging the members’ reputation and credibility, is causing vast psychological and financial damage. Therefore, we are informing you that we will be taking the following strong legal measures.
Criminal law: We will file a criminal complaint against those who spread falsehoods on the charge of defamation under Article 70 of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc., along with Articles 307 and 309 of the Criminal Act.
Civil damages claim: We will pursue legal action, including civil damages claims, against everyone who caused financial losses for the HIGHLIGHT members and our agency through the spreading of falsehoods.
We will absolutely not tolerate or harm any actions that destroy our artist’s reputation, including the spreading of unverified falsehoods or malicious posts and comments, and we will hold [the perpetrators] accountable through strong legal action.
We are always deeply grateful for the warm love and interest of the fans. We, too, will do our utmost to protect our artist. Thank you.
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