Kim Junsu, who was swindled out of 800 million by a female BJ, “Obvious victim”
Junsu Kim. Photo courtesy of|Palm Tree Island
The aftermath of the news that singer and musical actor Kim Junsu was blackmailed and extorted over 800 million won by a female AfreecaTV BJ has been continuing.
He is emphasizing that he is a “clear victim” and “did nothing wrong,” but attention is focused on his future actions as various suspicions are being raised.
According to the Gyeonggi Northern Provincial Police Agency and other agencies on the 17th, person A, who was active as a BJ, was arrested on charges of blackmail under the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes Act. Person A is accused of approaching Junsu Kim in 2019, falsely claiming to be a “nail artist,” recording extremely private content such as conversations and phone calls, and threatening and extorting 840 million won from him.
Person A is said to have committed the crime for the purpose of raising money for drug use. In relation to this, Junsu Kim was also criticized.
Palm Tree Island, Kim’s agency, was concerned that Junsu could be the subject of gossip because he is a celebrity, and stated, “Junsu Kim has suffered from continuous threats and mental distress from Person A for a long time. In order to prevent further damage, we decided to take preemptive legal action and filed a lawsuit,” they said, emphasizing that “During the police investigation, it was revealed that Mr. A had an additional drug conviction, and (Junsu Kim) has absolutely no connection to such illegal acts.”
The agency also stated that “the recorded file is just a private conversation,” and “it does not contain any inappropriate or misleading content. A recorded the private conversation for illegal purposes as a means of blackmail.”
During this process, the agency appealed that “Junsu Kim is clearly the victim,” and explained, “We know that Junsu Kim did nothing wrong, but they have been continuously threatening us, saying, ‘Celebrities’ image will be damaged if even one untrue article comes out, and they will not be able to appear on broadcasts, so their image will never be able to recover.’”
Meanwhile, they also revealed their position on Junsu Kim’s next musical, which came to light in connection with this controversy. The agency emphasized that there were “no issues” regarding his appearance in the global musical ‘Aladdin’, which opens on the 22nd, which is a matter of interest to fans. In fact, Junsu Kim attended the preview performance held on the 17th.
Reporter Jeongyeon Lee annjoy@donga.com
