A photo and a mortuary tablet of late actress Kim Sae-ron are moved to a vehicle during her funeral at Asan Medical Center in Seoul, Feb. 19. Yonhap
Over 50,000 Koreans have signed an online petition calling for the National Assembly to legislate a law to prevent and punish YouTubers who disrupt the privacy of celebrities recklessly.
The petition follows the recent death of actor Kim Sae-ron, after several YouTubers continuously posted about her private life and spread gossip about her.
More than 51,000 signed a petition on the National Assembly's petition website as of Friday afternoon, calling for the introduction of strong regulations on such YouTubers, many of whom are former journalists covering entertainment.
"The social problem of bullying celebrities at the near-stalking level through former entertainment reporters' YouTube channels is not a new issue. Recently, it even led to the tragic death of another young actor by suicide,” the petitioner surnamed Jeong wrote on Feb. 24.
The petitioner said many celebrities have left the entertainment industry, had mental breakdowns or even died due to stress caused by the malicious activities of those YouTubers. "I ask the Assembly to come up with measures to prevent their activities of bullying celebrities for monetary gains and prevent the consequent suffering of the celebrities."
The Assembly is required to officially review petitions with 50,000 or more signatures. After the deliberation, the relevant standing committee will decide within 90 days whether to bring it to a plenary session.
An online petition on the National Assembly website calls for lawmakers to regulate YouTubers' cyberbullying of celebrities. The petition garnered over 51,000 signatures as of Friday afternoon and will be officially reviewed at the Assembly. Captured from National Assembly's website
The petition is believed to target @Behind_Master, a YouTube channel focusing on celebrity gossip that has posted several videos related to the late actor.
The channel is run by former entertainment reporter Lee Jin-ho, who has about 620,000 subscribers.
In November, Lee criticized Kim, claiming she hosted a drinking party with friends after halting her acting career due to a DUI incident in 2022.
He also mocked her for getting a part-time job at a coffee shop, suggesting it was a publicity stunt to elicit public sympathy. Last month, Lee reported on rumors of Kim's possible marriage after she posted a photo with a man on social media.
Kim, best known for her role in the 2010 Korean film "The Man from Nowhere," was found dead at her home in Seoul on Feb. 16. Police confirmed there were no signs of foul play.
After Kim's bereaved family signaled their intent to take legal action against Lee for causing emotional distress to the deceased, Lee made many related videos private.
