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| The agencies of Lee Chung-ah, left, and Jung Yu-mi, right, warned Wednesday that they will not stand by as malicious rumors regarding singer Jung Joon-young's secretly recorded sex videos circulate. Graphics by Bae So-young |
Some stars suffer sex video fallout
By Jung Hae-myoung
Many celebrities were maintaining a low profile Wednesday after the news broke that singer Jung Joon-young had secretly shared recorded sex videos with his acquaintances in a group chat room.
Rumors spread that this will result in several reputations being marred.
On Tuesday, several female celebrities were among the top 10 most-searched names on Naver, the nation's largest internet portal, with actress Jung Yu-mi and singer Lee Chung-ah among them. Their names were spread online as possible victims, likely because they previously worked with Jung in music videos and on a reality program.
Speculation on other female celebrities being alleged victims of Jung's secretly recorded sex videos was rife on the internet and rumors spread fast through social media.
Their agencies reacted strongly to the "baseless stories," threatening to take legal action against rumormongers.
Actress Jung denied the allegation. She posted a message on Instagram, Tuesday, denying that she was a victim in the scandal. "No worries," she wrote.
Her agency issued a strongly worded statement, warning that those who spread false information about the actress would face legal consequences for defamation.
"We're aware she was implicated in some online rumors. We'd like to make it clear that such information is baseless and we are very uncomfortable about seeing it," LnSTARCAMP202 said in a statement.
"If anyone shares or spreads such groundless stories about her either maliciously or without intention, we'll not stand by. We will take legal action against them."
The actress teamed up with singer Jung as a couple in MBC's 2013-2014 "reality" program "We Got Married."
Another actress Lee Chung-ah also denied any involvement. She tweeted to her fans, "Thank you, but don't worry."
Her agency Kings Entertainment threatened legal action against anyone spreading stories about the actress. In a statement, the agency acknowledged Lee appeared in Jung's music video in 2013 but added that the two are not close.
The reaction comes a day after JYP issued a warning to people alleging that one of the members of girl group TWICE was in one of Jung's illicit sex videos.
JYP denied the allegation, claiming such a rumor taints the image and good name of the performer and so the agency won't sit back.
"We are collecting evidence and discussing how to deal with this with law firms," JYP said in a statement.
Not only female stars but also male celebrities are trying to keep their distance from the troubled singer as they were rumored to be members of the group chat.
Some have been mentioned as members of, "Milddang Pocha," the name of the group in which Jung shared the videos. These include boy band Highlight member Yong Joon-hyung, CNBLUE member Lee Jong-hyun, F.T. Island member Lee Hong-gi and rapper Zico.
"Yong was never in any group chat that had videos shared by Jung," said Around US, Yong's agency.
Josh Carrott, a YouTube star with his channel KoreanEnglishMan, deleted all videos he had filmed with Jung, who he has known for 15 years.
Jung's illicit recording of sex videos is not the first time he has been accused of such behavior. In 2016, he was accused of filming part of his ex-girlfriend's body; but charges were dropped by the victim.
"We are deeply concerned about male celebrities' understanding of sex trafficking and their filming and distributing of sex videos," the Korean Women Lawyers Association said. "This case shows how society fails to see women as human beings and just regards them as objects of sexual pleasure."
Police detained Jung at Incheon International Airport as soon as he arrived here from Los Angeles, Tuesday.
Jung terminated his contract with his agency, MakeUs Entertainment, Wednesday and will be questioned by police today.
