A cold splash of "transfer dating" was thrown on the public relationship between actor Ji Ye-eun and dancer Bata. Bata immediately moved to contain the situation, calling it a "baseless rumor."
As Ji Ye-eun and Bata quickly acknowledged their relationship and announced the birth of the fifth official couple in the entertainment industry this year, the spread of rumors made it impossible to simply laugh it off. Bata, who had not responded saying "not worth mentioning," eventually said "groundless" and announced plans for legal action as reports continued.
Ji Ye-eun and Bata officially acknowledged their relationship on the 13th. Ji Ye-eun's agency CPN Entertainment told OSEN that day, "The two, who had been colleagues, are meeting with good feelings toward each other," asking for warm consideration. In particular, the two quickly acknowledged the relationship within less than an hour after dating reports, starting a public relationship.
The two, who are the same age, grew closer through shared interests and religion, developing from friends into lovers and quietly nurturing their love. They were also strong supporters for each other. Last year, when the project group Chungju Jissi, formed by Ji Ye-eun and broadcaster Jee Seokjin, performed on the "Waterbomb Seoul 2025" stage, Bata produced the choreography for the new song "Milkshake."
Jee Seokjin posted a dance challenge video filmed with Ji Ye-eun and Bata on his social media with the message "congratulations." Having watched the two closely, Jee Seokjin publicly sent his congratulations as soon as the relationship became public.
Because Ji Ye-eun recently created several "on-air flings" with multiple people on the SBS variety show "Running Man," her "real relationship" with Bata received a lot of attention. Interest grew further when it became known that the two's relationship had already been foreshadowed six months earlier through a "sacred post" on an online community. The post was an eyewitness account that reported the situation of Ji Ye-eun and Bata's "flirtation" at the time in near real time.
The problem was that baseless speculation and rumors spread after the "sacred post" became a hot topic. After the netizen began talking about the two's "flirtation," they soon added posts such as, "Bata broke up with a girlfriend he dated for six years. He met Ji Ye-eun right after breaking up with his girlfriend." This raised suspicions that Bata had "transferred" from his ex to Ji Ye-eun, sparking controversy.
As the post spread, Aira, the agency of WeDemBoys, to which Bata belongs, issued an official statement on the 15th saying, "We have refrained from responding because it is a story not worth mentioning. There have been cases where false posts were reported without filtering, so we clearly state that this is groundless."
Bata's side added, "He has never dated someone for six years, and the most recent dating and breakup timing was three years ago," saying, "If the spread of absurd false information continues, the agency will take strong action."
Although it is rosy news that deserves nothing but congratulations, Bata and Ji Ye-eun could not simply laugh because of untimely rumors.
[Photo] OSEN DB, Jee Seokjin SNS.
[OSEN]