Model Han Hye-jin's YouTube channel was hacked and deleted. Fans expressed great shock and regret as the popular channel, with about 860,000 subscribers, vanished overnight.
In the early hours of the 10th, a live stream related to coins titled突 "Prediction of growth by CEO Brad Garlinghouse" was broadcast on Han Hye-jin's YouTube channel. The content was completely unrelated to the channel, which had been centered on beauty·life content.
Fans alerted others to the emergency with comments such as "I think YouTube was hacked," "A strange coin broadcast was uploaded," and "Sister, the channel has been deleted nowㅠㅠ."
Eventually the channel was blocked with the message "This channel has been removed for violating YouTube community guidelines." Han Hye-jin immediately issued a statement through social media.
She said, "In the early hours of Nov. 10, I learned in the morning from production staff that a coin-related live stream had been broadcast on my channel," and added, "We have officially filed an appeal with YouTube and have taken all possible measures to restore it." She apologized, saying, "The broadcast was unrelated to me or the production team. I sincerely hope no one was harmed."
She also said, "Because I planned and created the channel myself, I am very upset and bewildered," and added, "I'm sorry for causing concern. I will do my best to restore it."
Han Hye-jin's case occurred amid a recent spate of hacking attacks targeting celebrities' YouTube channels. Last year, channels belonging to SHINee Taemin, Lee Seung-gi, VIVIZ, Bad Villain, tvN DRAMA, and TVING also suffered from coin video broadcasts or account name changes. Fortunately, those channels were all restored with the cooperation of YouTube headquarters.
Experts stressed, "Content creators urgently need to strengthen security measures, such as enabling two-step verification and changing passwords periodically."
Meanwhile, fans showed support for Han Hye-jin with reactions such as "Does this make any sense, I'm so shocked," "These are contents Han Hye-jin made herself, I hope they're recovered," and "YouTube's security system needs to be strengthened." Attention is focused on whether Han Hye-jin's YouTube channel can be safely restored.
[Photo] "OSEN DB"
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