SM Entertainment has announced plans to file criminal complaints after capturing and preserving the accounts of netizens who posted false information or defamatory content about its artists aespa, RIIZE and NCT WISH.
On the 20th, SM Entertainment (hereafter SM) posted on its official social media, "We have confirmed that some users using X (formerly Twitter) accounts have been posting and creating malicious posts that repeatedly and continuously spread false information about our artists, defame them, engage in sexual harassment, personal attacks, insults, invasion of privacy and other offenses."
SM said, "We are taking stern action against such illegal acts that cause significant psychological harm to our artists and are proceeding with criminal complaints to protect the rights and interests of our artists."
It added, "Based on valuable reports received through 'KWANGYA 119' from fans and materials collected through our own monitoring, we closely examined the contents of X posts and attached images, and in particular submitted a complaint to investigative authorities with law firm Sejong (Limited) regarding confirmed criminal acts by a total of 11 X accounts that have continuously posted and created such malicious posts about aespa, RIIZE and NCT WISH."
Along with this, SM Entertainment also disclosed some of the IDs and nicknames of the 11 accounts.
SM said, "In addition to this complaint submission, we are reviewing malicious posts uploaded to various social media platforms about artists other than aespa, RIIZE and NCT WISH, preparing criminal complaints together, and will continue to expand the scope of complaints."
It said it has also secured evidence of distorted content such as malicious rumors, fabricated information and deepfakes circulating on communities and social media, and will proceed with strict legal action through criminal complaints and civil claims in sequence.
Below is the full notice from SM Entertainment
Hello, this is SM Entertainment.
We have confirmed that some users using X (formerly Twitter) accounts have been continuously and repeatedly posting and creating malicious posts that spread false information about our artists, defame them, engage in sexual harassment, personal attacks, insults and invasion of privacy, and we are proceeding with criminal complaints to take stern action against such illegal acts that cause significant psychological harm to our artists and to protect their rights and interests.
Based on valuable reports received through "KWANGYA 119" from fans and materials collected through our own monitoring, we closely examined the contents of X posts and attached images, and in particular submitted a complaint to investigative authorities with law firm Sejong (Limited) regarding confirmed criminal acts by a total of 11 X accounts that have continuously posted and created such malicious posts about aespa, RIIZE and NCT WISH.
In addition to this complaint submission, we are reviewing malicious posts uploaded to various social media platforms about artists other than aespa, RIIZE and NCT WISH, preparing criminal complaints together, and will continue to expand the scope of complaints.
We have also collected large amounts of evidence regarding the creation and distribution of malicious rumors and false information related to our artists on sites including DC Inside, Naver, Daum Cafe, Nate Pann, Instiz, Theqoo, MLBPark, FM Korea, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube; posts that ridicule, demean or contain sexually explicit content; and the production or distribution of distorted content such as deepfakes, and we plan to continue strict legal action without leniency through sequential criminal complaints and civil claims.
In 2026, we will continue to prioritize protecting the rights and interests of our artists and will do our best in every way. We ask for fans' continued interest and cooperation.
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]