Junsu Kim, BJ blackmail victim, extorted 800 million won “No illegal activity, obvious victim” [Full text]

Singer Junsu Kim has released an official statement after being blackmailed and extorted about 800 million won.

On the 15th, the Munhwa Ilbo reported that an African female BJ A is accused of blackmailing Junsu Kim from September 2020 to last month and stealing 840 million won worth of money on 101 occasions.

According to the authorities, the Gyeonggi Northern Police Agency applied for an arrest warrant for A on the 13th on charges of blackmail under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes. Person A is known to have recorded conversations and audio with Junsu Kim with the purpose of raising money for drug use, and extorted money in exchange for preventing their distribution online.

It has been reported that Person A is currently on trial for a drug-related case at the Seoul Central District Court, separate from Junsu Kim. The Munhwa Ilbo added that the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors‘ Office is also investigating the case related to Person A.

Following the report, Junsu Kim’s agency Palm Tree Island stated on the 15th, “As recently reported, Person A recorded conversations with Junsu Kim with illegal purposes and threatened to distribute them on SNS, along with the message, ‘We know that Junsu Kim did nothing wrong, but as a celebrity, if even one untrue article comes out, their image is damaged, and Junsu Kim cannot appear on broadcasts, so he will never be able to recover his image. However, he continued to threaten others, starting with the statement, “I have nothing to lose.”

The agency stated, “In particular, person A continued to make these threats because Junsu Kim is a celebrity, taking advantage of the public’s attention, and while the suspect also recognized that Junsu Kim had done nothing wrong, he abused his position as a celebrity to continue these acts.”

They emphasized, “In this incident, we want to make it clear that Junsu Kim is a clear victim. Junsu Kim has confirmed that there are many victims of A’s extortion and threats, not just himself, and has decided to take legal action to prevent any further damage.”

They added, “We ask for your understanding as it is difficult to provide a specific explanation as the case is currently in the warrant trial stage. We will provide additional statements as soon as the investigation and trial are concluded. Through this incident, we hope to once again raise awareness of how serious and malicious illegal acts are of unfair threats and extortion, and we will respond strongly to the end,” they said. “Lastly, we would like to make it clear once again that Junsu Kim is a clear victim who has not committed a single illegal or criminal act in relation to this incident.”



Official position from Junsu Kim’s side

Hello.

This is Palm Tree Island.

First, we would like to share our official position regarding the reports regarding our artist Junsu Kim.

As recently reported, Mr. A recorded a conversation with Junsu Kim for illegal purposes and threatened to distribute it on social media, along with the statement, “I know that Junsu Kim did nothing wrong, but as a celebrity, even if just one untrue article comes out, our image is damaged, and Kim Junsu has not been able to appear on broadcasts, so he will not be able to restore his image. However, he has nothing to lose,” and continued to make threats.

In particular, Mr. A continued to make these threats because Kim Junsu is a celebrity, and while the suspect also recognized that Kim Junsu had done nothing wrong, he continued to use his position as a celebrity to commit these acts.

In this case, we would like to make it clear that Kim Junsu is the clear victim. Kim Junsu has confirmed that there are many victims of Mr. A’s blackmail and threats, not just himself, and has decided to take legal action to prevent further damage.

The case is currently in the court’s warrant trial stage, so we ask for your understanding as it is difficult to provide a detailed explanation. We will make an additional statement once the investigation and trial are concluded. We hope that this incident will once again raise awareness of how serious and malicious illegal acts of unfair threats and blackmail are, and we promise to respond strongly to the end.

Lastly, I would like to make it clear once again that Junsu Kim is a clear victim who has not committed a single illegal or criminal act in relation to this incident.

Thank you.

Jung Hee-yeon, Donga.com reporter shine2562@donga.com