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On Friday, April 26, LE SSERAFIM's agency, SOURCE MUSIC released a statement announcing that they will be taking strong legal action against the malicious post, spread of false information, and defamation of the K-pop girl group. In the statement, SOURCE MUSIC explained that several disrespectful remarks and insults directed towards the girl group have been swarming on the internet.
These disrespectful comments have allegedly extended to a level of extremity where the members of LE SSERAFIM have fallen victim to instances of online s*xual harassment, slander, discriminatory insults, etc. Given that defamation and insult stand as a criminal offense in Korea, the agency explained that severe measures would be taken against those who were responsible for the same.
"Given the serious infringement on the artists’ rights, we want to emphasize once again that we will respond strongly to all malicious posts, whether on social media platforms or online communities," the agency wrote.
The agency also warned that the continuation of such behavior will also receive a strong response. Following the release of the statement, many netizens believe that the statement most likely refers to the controversy around LE SSERAFIM's live vocals and the heavy criticism they received.
SOURCE MUSIC releases statement announcing legal action against the defamation of LE SSERAFIM
Recently, LE SSERAFIM has been garnering a lot of criticism for their live vocals which began with their M Countdown encore performance in March 2024. After the members bagged the award for their title track, EASY, they performed a casual encore version of the song.
However, the fans were disappointed as the group failed to meet their expectations with their live vocals during the encore performance. Several people began to call them out for their lack of vocal training and criticized them. Their Coachella stage on April 13, further fueled the criticisms when the group performed their b-side track, SMART.
The heavy choreography of the song reportedly produced unsatisfactory vocals and mounted criticism towards the members. While some netzines appreciated their improvement during their performance in the second week of Coachella on April 21, others continued to express their disappointment by creating allegations that the group was lip-syncing.
This ongoing debate around LE SSERAFIM's live vocals has led to people mocking and slandering K-pop idols. However, SOURCE MUSIC has finally stepped in to take control of the situation. On April 26, they released a statement addressing the defamation of their artists. They began the statement by expressing that they're concerned by the disrespectful remarks and malicious posts about LESSERAFIM on social media platforms.
They then continued,
"These actions have led to the circulation of numerous malicious posts and unfounded speculations based on one-sided claims that lack validity. We have determined that malicious postings, including indiscriminate insults, the spread of false information, instances of s*xual harassment, malicious defamation and slander, and defamation of character against LE SSERAFIM have reached an alarming level."
They also talked about how certain malicious posts and the spread of false information have tarnished the group's public image.
"Therefore, we’d like to announce that we will be strengthening the necessary legal actions to protect our artists. The false allegations suggesting that LE SSERAFIM has caused harm to other artists and the presentation of groundless information as established facts to influence public opinion constitute clear instances of spreading false information," the statement continued.
They ended their statement by motivating people to send tips on information that help their legal procedures. The statement read:
"Posts containing slander and insults, defamation of the artist’s character, and instances of s*xual harassment are all subject to legal action. We are also actively utilizing the valuable tips from fans that we receive through SOURCE MUSIC’s legal affairs hotline ([email protected]). We sincerely want to express our gratitude for the love and dedication fans have shown towards LE SSERAFIM."
Therefore, SOURCE MUSIC will be taking strong action against malicious posts and other defamation cases that have surfaced so far and will surface in the future.
