Netizen Responsible for Lovelyz's Seo Jisoo's Rumors Arrested

[skystealers.livejournal.com]

Back in November, just before Lovelyz was set to debut, member Seo Ji Soo was caught up in controversy thanks to serious Internet rumors that were circulating. A women (presumed) went around accusing Seo Ji Soo of being everything from a sasaeng to a sexual predator, and was even trying to out her as a lesbian. Soon after, evidence that the proof against Seo Ji Soo were fabricated came out, and Seo Ji Soo went to the police in an attempt to clear her name.

Well, today her ordeal may be over, as the Mapo police arrested a man and booked him on charges of maliciously spreading rumors about Seo Ji Soo. The police commented that the case has been passed along to the prosecutors, and until a decision is made by that branch, the suspect will remain anonymous. The police also said that they found the suspect by tracing the IP address.

In an ideal world, this matter would get settled quickly, and Seo Ji Soo could resume activities. But she’s still being treated for mental trauma due to this situation and Woollim Entertainment has stated that the group will continue as seven until the matter has been completely resolved.

***

Woollim Entertainment‘s girl group Lovelyz will continue to promote with its seven members, as member Seo Ji Soo will not be participating in their upcoming comeback single.

The girl group’s agency Woollim Entertainment announced on February 11, “The upcoming new song will be promoted by the seven members. Seo Ji Soo’s participation in the group will be discussed after all the issues are settled.”

Seo Ji Soo was not part of the girl group’s debut and promotions after various rumors regarding her past behaviors surfaced online.

Woollim has already reported the person who spread the rumors online for defamation. The netizen has been arrested by the police, and the case has been forward to the public prosecutor’s office. News sources are reporting that it may take a while for the cases to be resolved.

Questions regarding Seo Ji Soo’s participation in the group surfaced with Lovelyz’s latest teaser image, where only seven members seemed to be present.

Sources: asianjunkie 1, 2, 3, 4 | daum, mydaily, starnews

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Edit: Tweaked the title mods!

Comments

[bauci.livejournal.com]

HUH
I remember reading that it was an ex-trainee that didn't make the cut and wanted a revenge but now it's a guy?
But good, internet bullies have to face the music as well. Does anybody know what happened to the Tabloo's harasser tho?

[leighbee333.livejournal.com]

Tablo's? I think he's in America - prosecutors wanted him to come to Korea and be tried, but he wasn't extradited....

Idk if there was any more info on that case.

[bauci.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's as far as I remember as well :/

[liquidt1000.livejournal.com]

LMAO Not the company trying to conceal SEO JISOO TRUTH!!!

'she roleplayed as INFINITE/EXO members and said sexual things like "I want to rape Do Kyungsoo", "I wonder what color ***'s dick is",'

we know it was the truth !!!

[tokyocinema.livejournal.com]

The sarcasm is strong in this one~

[timetobegin.livejournal.com]

Where those statements taken from a random Exo fans tumblr lmao

Netizens

[tokyocinema.livejournal.com]

Article: Police arrest hateful commenter of Lovelyz Seo Jisoo...

Source: Star News via Naver

1. [+171, -18] Did they thoroughly investigate this?!

2. [+134, -5] The rumors were so shocking...

3. [+183, -62] The victim is still out there, are they seriously writing an article like this by arresting someone who was just looking for attention in this whole ordeal? The media should stand on the side of the victim's, how can the media just cover their eyes like this and act like nothing happened? The victim is still out there living life in pain, I can't believe the company is willing to do this much to put out a criminal on TV that kids will watch. I cannot understand this ridiculous fandom culture that continues to defend even criminals.

4. [+136, -18] They did not arrest the victim, they just arrested another irrelevant attention seeker

5. [+98, -19] To the people who are misunderstanding what happened, the person they arrested is 'fucking Jisoo', someone who manipulated the evidence. She is not the real victim. The real victim has the real evidence with her and the investigation itself is not over yet. 'Fucking Jisoo' definitely needs to pay the price for her actions but Woollim is acting like the scandal is over by emphasizing that they caught a 'hateful commenter' irrelevant to the case.

-

Re: Netizens

[ultimaaa.livejournal.com]

Netizen comments shouldn't be taken as fact. It's even mentioned that prosecution won't reveal the identity of the guy they arrested so how would they know it's that person? Netizens are psychic now apparently.

Re: Netizens

[tokyocinema.livejournal.com]

I think they came to that conclusion because people are saying that it was Jisooluv, when Jisooluv was still posting on twitter when it announced that someone was arrested.

Re: Netizens

[ultimaaa.livejournal.com]

That makes sense. What doesn't make sense is why anyone would think it was Jisooluv in the first place when a) it's been established they weren't a victim; and b) they went to the police already. ?_?

Re: Netizens

[tokyocinema.livejournal.com]

Jisooluv came out as not just a sexual minority but as one of the victims in her open letter to the public/police/Woollim, if I remember correctly. The full translated letter is somewhere on either AKP or Koreaboo, I think.

And to be honest, I don't know why people would instantly think the arrested man was Jisooluv.

I'm trying to find out if she's said anything on twitter about what happened or if she went to the police and what they did to appease my own curiosity, but my korean is still elementary-level crap and google translate is bollocks ;~; *5ever waiting for someone to translate*

Re: Netizens

[ultimaaa.livejournal.com]

Yes but. They supposedly went to the police and the police said that none of the people they questioned was actually a victim and that they all had the defense that they heard the rumors from elsewhere. This was in Mapo PD's last statement prior to this arrest. Ergo the conclusion that she was never a victim or that she didn't bother to show up.

Honestly, the fact she keeps chirping on Twitter about an ongoing criminal investigation is nagl, especially since she was supposedly involved. All it's doing is feeding the public's desire for a witch hunt and does nothing to help the police in their actual investigation.

Re: Netizens

[tokyocinema.livejournal.com]

There's nothing that says that she didn't or couldn't have shown up after the police's last statement however, which was a good four or five days after her own.

From what I can tell through google translate, it seems like people are just asking her about what happened to her since then and what happened with the police and she's answering them.

Re: Netizens

[ultimaaa.livejournal.com]

If that were the case though I imagine the police would've mentioned it, no? The way I see it there's a lot of information being withheld from the public given that Woollim is saying there's a chance Jisoo might be back for their repackage in March. The fact it's being handed to prosecution tells me they're pretty certain about who they caught (the original article does say it's the source of the rumors and not a circulator).

Re: Netizens

[tokyocinema.livejournal.com]

I don't think the police would've said anything, if it had helped the case in any way.

Most of the messy information is still being ironed out for court so that's why a good amount of info is being withheld, or at least that's the vibe I'm personally getting, And Soompi/Koreaboo say Woollim said Jisoo's place is the group will be discussed after the issues are settled and she definitely won't be back for Lovelyz's comeback in March?

Either way, this is 50 shades of messed up and I'm going to watch some Dongwoo videos to bleach my brain~

Jisooluv is not a victim

[hipployta.livejournal.com]

No, she went to the police, as ordered, and told them she just spread and collected what she heard and was not a victim nor the originator of the rumors

Re: Jisooluv is not a victim

[tokyocinema.livejournal.com]

But why would she say that she was a victim in her statement?

"To be honest, I'm very tired out. Before I am a victim, I am also an individual of the sexual minority, and a girl. Because I stand confident, I was able to bring this case up to the surface, but as I kept giving feedback, the more that people demanded things from me and threatened me on SNS, the more I felt fear, and the more pressure I felt to produce evidence... What kind of evidence must I show to prove my case. I finally arrived at a state of calm only after I even started to have bad thoughts."

Is it a mistake in translation? :o

Re: Jisooluv is not a victim

[hipployta.livejournal.com]

When was this statement because she coming out online under pseudonym (which she previously used to claim FB photos as proof and when busted said her friend was the real victim while continually spreading false information) isn't really giving her credibility

Plus AFTER she went to the police they straight up said that no one they interviewed were the original source for the rumors and only shared what they heard online

So either she lied to the police or she's lying in her letter (which is much more likely)

Re: Jisooluv is not a victim

[tokyocinema.livejournal.com]

If you read the whole statement, which came out around the 19th-21st of November, she said that most of the evidence she got from "fuckingjisoo", who turned out to be a troll (and the person k-netz think police arrested) and she took full blame for not corroborating them.

And yes, I'm not going to deny that possibility or say anyone is wrong for thinking so
but there's nothing that says that she couldn't have or didn't take what she had to the police and fully cooperated with them AFTER they made their last statement in November, which was only a good four to six days after her statement, and considering the gravity of the situation and her place in it, she wouldn't be blamed for waiting.

[jesymphony.livejournal.com]

This mess.

If Woolim wants Lovelyz to survive in the long run they have to formally dump Jisoon from the group. True or not, if she rejoins, the group as a whole will be tarnished. And it isn't like she brings that much to the group vocally either

[jannytruant.livejournal.com]

Yeesh, she should lose her job because someone made up lies about her? Tough crowd.

[jesymphony.livejournal.com]

More like I don't think the other 7 girls would be able to survive the shitstorm that would occur if Woollim puts Jisoo back in. Lovelyz don't have the fandom/track record that T-ara did when their scandal hit, so I don't think it's likely Lovelyz would ever be able to make bank if general opinion continues to remain so bad unless they strike gold with some mega hit. And even then, netizens are netizens unfortunately, even if the entire thing is proven to be false they'll still have their pitchforks out for the group if Jisoo remains (see T-ara).

[jannytruant.livejournal.com]

(shrug) sure, I get your point, just... there but for the grace of god go I. Would you graciously take one for the team if some random rang the papers & told lies about you?

Frankly, I'm just SO angry at the thought that some arsehole could just decide to destroy someone's career - and life - knowing full well that *it doesn't matter one hoot that they're lying*, this person's career is still gone. Achievement unlocked!

[jesymphony.livejournal.com]

idk. I'd be doing some serious thinking about whether or not this career is worth pursuing, because with all this backlash, breaking and staying in the idol world will be way more difficult than it already is.

Yeah you'd hope that people would be decent enough not to do something so horrible, but the world can be a bitch.

[torontok.livejournal.com]

As rough as it is, I agree.It's not at all fair to her but Woolim needs to drop her if they don't want this scandal to follow Lovelyz around forever.For a group who's trying for the 'innocent' concept to have a member with this kind of (alleged) past attached will be an issue for them.
But at the same time, that could be the final nail in the coffin for Jisoo, you know if Woolim drop her the gp will see it as iron-clad proof of her guilt.I feel worst for her in all this.
The only other thing I can add is 7 member Lovelyz would be symmetrical with Infinite

[jesymphony.livejournal.com]

mte I don't see how else Woollim would be able to keep Lovelyz together. For that matter, I don't know why they haven't dropped Jisoo like a hot potato already - I'm neutral about her, but what could possibly be so great about her that's worth sacrificing the image (and potential bank) of the 7 other girls? It's shit to be Jisoo whether she goes or stays. I don't know how she'd even begin to rebuild a potential idol career after this.

I'm so here for a symmetrical Lovelyz/Infinite. The possibilities are just endless.

[iznanassi.livejournal.com]

I thought this person and the original person were separate people though

[skystealers.livejournal.com]

me too. i'm confused bc some are seeing this as proof of her innocence but like the netz in the comments posted above, i thought the victim was a different person

idk why woollim is so set on keeping her

[ultimaaa.livejournal.com]

It's a Catch-22 for Woollim.

Let her go and it turns out she's innocent: how dare they not stand by their artist!!! Remember Tablo!!!!!
Keep her regardless of outcome: omg why are they keeping that rapist nothing was proved false smh!!!

Their hands are tied at this point and precedence doesn't help them.

[skystealers.livejournal.com]

so true. either way what a mess D:

[tokyocinema.livejournal.com]

They are.

Jisooluv, the person who spread most of the stuff and claimed to be one of the victims was on twitter when this person was arrested.

Netizens believe that this person may be "Fucking Jisoo", another person who claimed to be a victim but turned out to be a troll who submitted fake evidence.

[encyclopedicace.livejournal.com]

This arrest really shows how fucked up SK's justice system is. While I agree that there should be consequences for online trolls (mainly the ones that make threats of physical/sexual violence - which is already a crime), "spreading rumours" really doesn't seem like it should be an arrest-able offense - particularly in a country where they can't, or won't, arrest sasaengs for things like stalking, car accidents (attempted or caused), harassment, etc.

I wonder what kind of sentence this guy will get if he's found guilty and if the charge involves jail time...

[bauci.livejournal.com]

since he doesn't seem to have friends in high places (since he got arrested in the first place) then probably something worse than the rapists get. So like... a year at best and a fine that doesn't even buy you a brand bag.

[zeysech.livejournal.com]

I mean these rumors were claiming that she was a rapist though and the stress and pressure was enough to put her in the hospital. This seems like a different situation than normal rumors online.

[hipployta.livejournal.com]

The arrest is for cyber bullying

[hipployta.livejournal.com]

I'm confused by people talking about Jisooluv like she's a victim when she already went to the police and said she just spread and collected what she heard i.e. NOT a victim

[ultimaaa.livejournal.com]

Because of that open letter where she claimed she was one and "came out". A lot of people bought into it despite it contradicting everything she said up until that point.

[hipployta.livejournal.com]

Coming out online under a pseudonym she already used to spread false information and contradicting her own previous statements? Unbelievable

[seroquels.livejournal.com]

So ppl still believe the rumors even though mostly everything that's come out since points to it being all false? Or am I missing some new information? Jisooluv said she was a victim at first, then claimed she was just "getting the word out" for a "friend" who may or may be this guy that was arrested? But people are still saying Jisoo is guilty? Yikes. This is all a mess. I hope this investigation wraps up quickly so we can have the truth and Jisoo's fate will be decided.

[hipployta.livejournal.com]

I don't understand why people still believe Jisooluv at all or think Jisoo is guilty since all "evidence" that's been shared has been debunked

[seroquels.livejournal.com]

Neither do I sis.

I understand wanting to support the victim, but as of right now there doesn't appear there is a victim, besides Jisoo tbh.

[dot-rose.livejournal.com]

Ugh, it's really sad that this happen to this girl, even before she debuted.
If she debuted before this happened, there may have been fans around but at the rate this investigation is going...I don't know when it will be the right time to put her back into promotions.

[norringtons.livejournal.com]

Wishing her and the group success. What happened was awful, poor girl. IDK why, but I reallllly want them to succeed.