It looks like EXO member Baekhyun has had enough. The 26-year-old singer-turned-actor has finally broken his silence on individuals selling private information about k-pop idols online.
Earlier this week, several individuals on Twitter and other social media platforms made noise as they sell personal information - such as dorm addresses, favorite bars/restaurants, car numbers, ID photos, and photographs of past girlfriends - of several k-pop idols, including EXO.
Upon learning this, EXO's Baekhyun used his personal Twitter account and asked the said individual if it is "okay to sell other people's information" like that, as per Naver. As his reply gained attention, the original post was immediately deleted.
Baekhyun, whose real name is Byun Baek Hyun, is the main vocalist of EXO. Currently, he is busy promoting their latest albums, "Don't Mess Up My Tempo" and "Love Shot," along with fellow members Sehun (whose real name is Oh Se Hun), Xiumin (whose real name is Kim Min Seok), Kai (whose real name is Kim Jong In), Suho (whose real name is Kim Jun Myeon), D.O. (whose real name is Do Kyung Soo), Lay (whose real name is Zhang Yixing), Chen (whose real name is Kim Jong Dae) and Chanyeol (whose real name is Park Chan Yeol).
Meanwhile, selling of personal information is not something new to the entertainment industry. Cultural critic Kim Sung Soo already addressed this issue during his guest appearance on the popular CBS radio show, "Kim Hyun Jung's News Show."
According to Kim Sung Soo, the legal response from the k-pop idols' respective managing agency to these kinds of information peddlers might be difficult.
"If you catch the seller, then the buyers also become criminal," Kim Sung Soo said during his guest appearance on CBS' "Kim Hyun Jung's News Show," as quoted by Soompi. "However, those buyers are considered to be 'fans.' If you make too strong of a legal response, it could have effects beyond what the agency wants. The promotion period for an idol is quite short. If the contract is seven years, then the agency invests for four years and reaps the rewards for three. To the agency, this isn't worth the risk."
Kim Sung Soo went ahead to say that it was originally the managing agencies who would encourage the leak of information such as certain idols will be at this concert or this broadcast company. Hence, it is safe to say that the first methods by which fandoms became victim to criminals were taught by the agencies themselves.
