HYBE Shares Updates On Legal Action To Protect Its Artists From Malicious Acts

The HYBE labels have provided updates on legal measures taken to protect their artists from malicious activities.

On June 29, the labels shared the following updates on the progress of legal proceedings against malicious activities violating the rights of HYBE artists—including BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS (방탄소년단) is a South Korean K-pop group formed by BigHit Music and debuted on June 13, 2013. The group consists of seven members: RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. Known for their powerful performances, me , TXT, CORTIS, TWS, LE SSERAFIM LE SSERAFIM K-POP GROUP LE SSERAFIM is a five-member girl group known for confident, performance-driven concepts and strong stage presence. , NewJeans NewJeans K-POP GROUP NewJeans is a five-member girl group known for their fresh Y2K-inspired style, smooth vocals, and viral hits. , ILLIT, BOYNEXTDOOR, &TEAM, and Zico—via each artist’s official Weverse. SEVENTEEN SEVENTEEN K-POP GROUP SEVENTEEN is a self-producing boy group with 13 members, divided into hip-hop, vocal, and performance units, known for intricate choreography and songwriting. also released an official statement providing legal updates earlier on June 26.

BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS (방탄소년단) is a South Korean K-pop group formed by BigHit Music and debuted on June 13, 2013. The group consists of seven members: RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. Known for their powerful performances, me

Hello.This is BIGHIT MUSIC.

We are continuously taking legal action against criminal acts that infringe upon BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS (방탄소년단) is a South Korean K-pop group formed by BigHit Music and debuted on June 13, 2013. The group consists of seven members: RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. Known for their powerful performances, me ’s rights and interests, including defamation, insults, sexual harassment, and malicious slander.We would like to provide an update on the major legal actions taken as of the second quarter of 2026.

1. Comprehensive Monitoring and Application of a Zero-Tolerance Policy Toward Malicious Posts

Through our own monitoring system and the valuable reports submitted by fans, we are collecting evidence in real time of malicious posts about the artists posted on major online communities. In accordance with these efforts, one individual—who repeatedly posted entirely baseless and fabricated information across various online platforms to disparage our artists—had charges of both defamation via false information and criminal insult sustained. This perpetrator has subsequently received a deferred prosecution disposition, which is contingent upon their successful completion of a mandatory educational program.

During this quarter, we also filed complaints against the authors of malicious posts related to BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS (방탄소년단) is a South Korean K-pop group formed by BigHit Music and debuted on June 13, 2013. The group consists of seven members: RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. Known for their powerful performances, me on domestic communities (TheQoo, Instiz, Naver, Daum (Women’s Generation, Jjukbbang, Souldresser, etc.), Nate, Dmitory, DC Inside “galleries” including the BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS (방탄소년단) is a South Korean K-pop group formed by BigHit Music and debuted on June 13, 2013. The group consists of seven members: RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. Known for their powerful performances, me Gallery, Male Celebrity Gallery, and Domestic Entertainment Gallery, Ilgan Best, FMKorea, and others), music sites (Melon, Bugs Music, Genie Music, and others), and overseas social media channels (Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube, Telegram, and others). Furthermore, we wish to inform you that in addition to our regular filing cycles, we have initiated additional ongoing complaint procedures.

In particular, we are relentlessly tracking down and holding legally accountable, without exception, those responsible for malicious hate speech intended to evade punishment behind anonymity and fake news that is systematically promoted. We also wish to inform you that we are tracking and responding to acts involving the leaking and distribution of content that has not been made public. Even in cases where individuals attempt to destroy evidence by deleting posts after publishing them, all such cases are included as subjects of complaints without exception based on our real-time evidence collection system. We will take the strongest possible legal measures, without any settlement or leniency, against all acts that inflict mental suffering on our artists.

2. Guilty Verdict for Crimes Involving Trespassing at an Artist’s Residence and Stalking

With regard to the crime involving the invasion of our artists’ privacy, which was a matter of great concern for fans, we would like to share the trial result of the case announced in the first quarter (charges of violating the Stalking Punishment Act and trespassing).

An arrest warrant was issued for the defendant who trespassed at an artist’s residence and repeatedly engaged in stalking behavior. The defendant underwent a criminal trial while being detained in a detention center for approximately three months, and the court, recognizing the seriousness of the offense, sentenced the defendant to one year of imprisonment with a two-year suspended sentence.

We maintain a zero-tolerance policy without leniency toward offenders targeting our artists, and this applies equally to both Korean nationals and foreign nationals. If a foreign national receives criminal punishment for trespassing and stalking crimes, the offender may be forcibly deported to their home country and may be subject to a ban on entering South Korea.

Loitering around an artist’s residence, watching and waiting for the artist, or leaving gifts behind are not harmless expressions of interest but manifest criminal offenses. We wish to inform you that we will continue to take strong legal actions, including immediate reports to the police, against all unlawful approaches made under the pretext of conveying personal feelings to our artists.

The foundation of our legal response lies in the proactive reports shared by fans who champion a mature fan culture. If you discover unlawful acts that infringe upon our artists’ rights and interests, please report them through the “HYBE Artist Rights Violation Report Website (https://protect.hybecorp.com).”

We sincerely thank you for your unwavering love for BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS (방탄소년단) is a South Korean K-pop group formed by BigHit Music and debuted on June 13, 2013. The group consists of seven members: RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. Known for their powerful performances, me .In our commitment to the safety of our artists, we remain dedicated to implementing and enhancing proactive protective measures.

Thank you.BIGHIT MUSIC

TXT

Hello.This is BIGHIT MUSIC.

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to fans of TXT for their constant love and dedicated support.

In order to protect the rights and reputation of TXT, we have been consistently pursuing legal action against unlawful acts such as malicious slander, the dissemination of false information, defamation, and sexual harassment occurring online, based on valuable reports from fans and our own internal monitoring system.

Furthermore, we have been monitoring domestic online communities (Naver, Daum (including Daum Cafes such as Jjukbbang or Women’s Generation), Nate, TheQoo, DC Inside, Instiz, FMKorea, etc.), various music platforms, and overseas social media channels (X, Instagram, YouTube, etc.), and have collected evidence of malicious posts and comments involving insults and sexual harassment directed at the artists. In particular, we have identified posts that cause sexual humiliation toward the artists, posts that defame the artists by disparaging their achievements, insulting content that degrades the public perception of their individual honor and character, and posts containing false information about the direction of the artists’ activities. We have completed the filing of criminal complaints regarding these matters and will actively cooperate to ensure that the police investigations are carried out thoroughly and efficiently going forward.

We will continue to pursue malicious actors to the very end so that the artists’ reputations are not unjustly damaged. In order to ensure stable activities of our artists and foster a healthy fan culture, we once again clearly state that we will adhere strictly to a zero-tolerance policy, without any settlement or leniency, toward malicious actors. In particular, we will seek stricter legal accountability against offenders who repeatedly and habitually post harmful content through certain platforms, including expressions that cause sexual humiliation or otherwise damage the artists’ dignity.

In addition, we are also closely monitoring cases of unauthorized use of our artists’ music. In this regard, we are in close communication with various platforms to suspend the distribution of such audio tracks, and we will take strong legal action against repeat uploaders whose actions meet the criteria for illegal conduct.

Throughout this legal response process, active reports from fans are always of great help. If you encounter any illegal online activity, such as malicious posts related to the artists, please report them through the “HYBE Artist Rights Violation Report system (https://protect.hybecorp.com).” For effective use as evidence, we recommend submitting reports with a full-screen PC screenshot or PDF printout that clearly shows the URL, post content, author information, posting date, and capture date.

We sincerely thank all fans who continue to show unwavering love and dedication to TXT. BIGHIT MUSIC will continue to devote its full efforts to protecting the rights and interests of our artists.

Thank you.

CORTIS

Hello.This is BIGHIT MUSIC.

Based on our real-time, ongoing monitoring efforts and the valuable reports submitted by COER, we regularly pursue criminal complaints against acts that infringe upon our artists’ rights. We would like to provide an update on our recent legal actions.

1. Legal Action Against Malicious Posts and Other Violations of Artist Rights

We have identified posts and comments infringing upon the artists’ rights across a wide range of online platforms, including major online communities, portal sites, social media accounts, and music streaming platforms. The subjects of our recent complaints include malicious posts and comments containing disparagement and insults directed at the artists, the dissemination of clearly false information regarding the artists and the performance of their albums and music releases as well as content that manipulates the artists’ images in a manner that infringes upon their dignity and causes sexual humiliation.

The illicit creation and circulation of harmful content aimed at the artists is particularly grave, especially as many of the members are still minors. Accordingly, we have strongly emphasized the gravity of these matters to the investigative authorities and requested thorough investigations and strict punishment under our zero-tolerance policy, without settlement or leniency.

In addition, with the cooperation of Weverse, we have imposed usage restrictions on accounts that have posted content infringing upon the artists’ rights within the CORTIS Weverse community. We are also promptly reporting and requesting the removal of malicious content identified on various other platforms whenever possible.

2. Investigation Into Accounts Illegally Distributing Flight Information

As previously announced in the notice titled “[NOTICE] Fostering a Healthy Culture at CORTIS Concerts and Maintaining Order at Airports,” investigations are currently underway following the submission of criminal complaints in May against multiple heavy-uploading accounts that illegally sold the artists’ flight information through social media and other online channels.

Both the sale and purchase of artists’ flight information constitute violation of the Personal Information Protection Act, the Information and Communications Network Act, and other applicable laws. We will continue to actively cooperate with law enforcement authorities and maintain ongoing monitoring efforts to eradicate the illegal distribution of such information. We ask COER to refrain from buying or selling any personal information relating to the artists, including flight information.

3. Strong Response to Privacy Violations and Fan Etiquette Violations

We are also actively responding to conduct that infringes upon the artists’ privacy or threatens their safety. Recently, we identified numerous instances of privacy violations and fan etiquette violations and have taken measures including police reports, verbal warnings, and the deletion of unauthorized recordings.

● Unauthorized entry into or loitering around private spaces such as the artists’ residence parking facilities, causing distress and anxiety to the artists● Participating in events attended by the artists as staff members or affiliated personnel in order to approach the artists for personal purposes or attempt private conversations● Regarding the conduct of visiting artists at undisclosed activities not officially announced and/or following artists’ movements during their personal schedules● Taking unauthorized photographs of the artists from close proximity while they were sleeping or resting in airport lounges or on aircraft or persistently following the artists

Recently in the course of our artists carrying out scheduled activities in Paris, we were forced to issue warnings against egregious and unlawful conduct by fans, including attachin