Singer IU files petition with U.S. court to identify alleged online defamer
As IU's legal team needs to identify the online user spreading false and defamatory claims before a lawsuit in Korea can proceed, it asked the U.S. court to order Meta Platforms to disclose information associated with the account.
Singer and actor IU poses for photos at a cosmetics event in southern Seoul on Feb. 26.NEWS1
Singer and actor IU has asked a U.S. court to help identify an online user accused of repeatedly posting false and defamatory claims about her, Korean media outlet Dispatch reported on Monday.
She filed a petition with the Northern District of California Court last Wednesday, seeking a court order requiring Meta Platforms to disclose the account holder’s identifying information.
The petition is intended to obtain evidence for a defamation lawsuit currently underway in Korea.
IU’s legal team claims that the user behind the Threads account “@7hy*jin” uploaded 52 false and defamatory posts about the singer between March and October of last year.
As IU’s legal team needs to identify the person behind the account before the lawsuit in Korea can proceed, it asked the U.S. court to order Meta Platforms to disclose information associated with the account, including the user’s real name, address, phone number, email address and internet protocol, or IP, login records.
In the filing, IU’s legal team grouped the posts into six categories of false allegations: claims that she has plagiarized other artists’ works; claims about her ties to China; claims about her popularity overseas; claims that she has exploited deceased celebrities for publicity; claims that she has manipulated the media and public opinion; and claims that her songs are linked to national tragedies.
Singer and actor IU poses for photos at an awards ceremony in eastern Seoul on Dec. 29, 2025.NEWS1
According to the petition, the account holder repeatedly accused the singer of plagiarism even after a Korean court in 2024 ruled that the claims were defamatory and ordered the user to pay IU 30 million won ($20,250) in damages.
IU’s team also alleged that the account holder repeatedly claimed that IU was a Chinese national or an agent of Chinese capital. They reportedly posted false claims that the singer had little popularity overseas and accused her of exploiting the deaths of fellow K-pop stars Sulli, Jonghyun and Koo Ha-rafor publicity.
“IU is virtually unknown abroad, and ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’ [2025] was not successful internationally,” the Threads user wrote. “I’ve never seen an entertainer control the media in the way that the Chinese Communist Party does. Even politicians can’t do that.” In this post, the Chinese Communist Party seemingly refers to the singer.
In another post, the user claimed that IU’s song “Strawberry Moon” (2021) alluded to the 2022 Itaewon Halloween crowd crush and that “Ah puh” (2021) mocked the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster.
IU’s legal team argued that the posts spread false information without any factual basis.
In February, IU revealed that she was pursuing criminal complaints and civil lawsuits against 96 individuals accused of posting malicious comments about her. In May, one defendant received a four-month prison sentence, suspended for one year, after losing an appeal.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
