SM Entertainment speaks out against criminals who leaked EXO and NCT information

This Thursday, the 11th, SM Entertainment spoke out about the case of criminals who leaked personal information of members of the EXO It’s from NCT.

To this end, a statement was published on the KWANGYA 119 website, where fans of the agency’s artists can report problems and issues related to defamation, copyright infringement, invasion of privacy, among others.

Read the translation:

Hello, this is SM Entertainment.

We would like to inform you about the outcome of the lawsuit regarding the theft of personal information of one EXO member and three NCT members, who are artists of our company.

Regarding the incident that occurred in April 2023, where individuals impersonated delivery drivers during a live broadcast on X (Twitter) and stole the artists’ personal information, we have collected substantial evidence through fan reports and our own monitoring. We have appointed SHIN&KIM Law Firm (LLC) as our legal representative and filed a complaint for violation of the Information and Communications Network Utilization Promotion Act and the Information Protection Act.

In this incident, the defendants posed as delivery men during a live broadcast with many viewers, stole the artists’ addresses and released this information, thus committing a crime by exposing the artists’ personal information to the public. At the time, the police identified four individuals involved in the live broadcast as suspects and forwarded two of them to the Public Prosecutor’s Office with recommendations for indictment for directly calling the artists.

At the recent trial, the defendants admitted to all charges, claiming that they committed the crime out of the fans’ love for their artists, and pleaded for leniency. However, we inform you that the two defendants were each sentenced to a fine of 3 million won (approximately US$2,200). We deeply appreciate the significant interest and valuable reports from fans that enabled us to take legal action against such illegal activities targeting our artists.

Even now, acts of obtaining and unauthorizedly calling artists’ phone numbers or visiting their homes have been occurring for a long time. Although artists have endured these intrusions because they are celebrities, they have reached a level that is difficult for an individual to bear, which creates serious psychological problems. We reiterate that such acts are not expressions of interest in artists, but serious crimes that instill fear and cause them psychological harm.

Furthermore, to protect our artists, we continuously monitor and take legal action against such acts and any violations of artists’ rights and reputations, adhering to the principle of zero tolerance. We are awaiting the results of several ongoing legal actions. We urge you to immediately cease any acts that invade artists’ privacy and be careful not to get involved in any unfortunate incidents.

Thanks.