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Court fines stalker of Jannabi front man 5 million won

Published: 07 Mar. 2026, 09:58 Updated: 08 Mar. 2026, 11:00

Band Jannabi front man Choi Jung-hoon sings during a press event in Mapo District in western Seoul on July 6, 2022. [YONHAP]

A perpetrator who left malicious comments, stalked and made sexually humiliating online posts against band Jannabi front man Choi Jung-hoon was sentenced to pay a 5 million won ($3,360) fine, according to the vocalist’s agency on Friday.

Peponi Music Entertainment, Choi’s agency, said in its official announcement on social media that the offender posted hundreds of private comments on a blog run directly by Choi. The comments contained profanity, requests for private meetings, death threats, photos of the perpetrator and sexually offensive photos and words. The agency wrote that such behaviors inflicted “mental distress” on the artist.

The agency filed a complaint against the offender under the Act on the Punishment of the Crime of Stalking and the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment etc. of Sexual Crimes.

Besides the 5 million won fine, a court also ordered the convict to undergo a therapy program to treat their stalking behavior. The ruling has been finalized, according to the agency.

The agency added that it will continue to pursue legal action against malicious online posts, including defamation, insults, spreading false information and sexually explicit acts using telecommunication media. It noted that it continuously collects evidence of malicious posts through reports from fans and internal monitoring as part of its continuing support to ensure that its artists focus on their activities stably.

“We will hold perpetrators strictly accountable without settlement or leniency in principle,” the agency said.

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.
BY HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]