2NE1‘s Sandara Park confessed to lying about her age and dating a 14-year-old boy, causing a stir. The comments she made in a video she uploaded last year later became a topic of controversy, and the production team edited the video in question.

Last May, Sandara Park’s YouTube channel, ‘DARA TV’, posted a video of Sandara Park and Gong Minzy traveling together to the Philippines.

In the video, Sandara Park talked about lying about her age and dating a 14-year-old boy before her 2NE1 debut.

Sandara Park said, “A guy approached me and asked for my number. He was so cute, so I gave him my number. But he said he was 14. I was 19 at the time. It was right before my debut. I lied. I said I was 16 and we dated a few times.”

She continued, “We played whack-a-mole, basketball, and watched movies. Then I debuted, and my real age was revealed on a broadcast. I didn‘t contact that friend after that,” she added.

Fellow group member Gong Minzy, who was with her, laughed and said, “That friend was scammed.”

After that, some overseas fans began to criticize her, saying, “This is sexual exploitation of a minor,” so the production team deleted the problematic remarks and reuploaded the video.

The production team also announced, “We re-edited parts of the video that could be misunderstood depending on the cultural background. We ask that you refrain from making indiscriminate speculation, conjecture, and malicious slander against the artist regarding this episode. We will respond firmly to any and all acts of defamation with legal action.”

However, netizens continue to criticize the production team’s attitude of limiting issues related to minors to the “cultural sphere” and trying to silence them with “legal responses.”

Jeon Hyo-jin, Donga.com reporter jhj@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.