With influencer Baek Jin-kyung, known as "honorary Brit," who has 1.57 million SNS followers actively working, her agency announced a tough response to malicious rumors spreading online.
Baek Jin-kyung's agency said in an official statement on the 19th, "The content spread on SNS and online communities is an obvious falsehood that does not correspond at all with objective facts," and emphasized, "This is an illegal act that damaged the honor of the artist and the company with distorted claims."
It added, "We plan to take legal action, including civil and criminal complaints, against the author of the post without any settlement or leniency," and announced a policy of zero tolerance. It also noted that acts of sharing false content or reprocessing and distributing it can also be subject to legal liability. It is currently collecting and preserving related evidence, and the account that posted the problematic post has been deleted.
This tough response is interpreted as being due to growing concerns over image damage as unverified content has recently spread rapidly.
When the news was reported, netizens responded with support and encouragement, saying, "Isn't it natural that rumors follow when someone becomes famous," "rumors are just rumors; I don't believe them," "good that they responded strongly," "I hope they weren't hurt," and "I support you." Some also raised self-reflective voices about online rumor culture, saying, "The problem is the structure that spreads without fact-checking."
Meanwhile, Baek Jin-kyung appeared on the Omniscient Interfering View aired on the 7th and revealed the daily life of an influencer in her seventh year living in the U.K. Born in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, she introduced a British lifestyle while enjoying maesil tea and Korean food and surprising viewers with a preference for listening to K-ballad when exercising. She also recreated British "chav makeup" and corrected Konglish pronunciation, delivering laughs with her distinctive wit. The love story with her British husband, revealed for the first time on the broadcast, also drew attention.
Baek Jin-kyung, who built a unique character while working as a plus-size model, has attracted attention by taking a tough stance against malicious rumors even though the problematic post has been deleted.
[Photo] 'SNS'
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