Kim Junsu Claims to Have Been Blackmailed by BJ for 5 Years, Suffers Losses of Up to IDR 9 Billion

Kim Junsu (Instagram @xiaxiaixa1215)

JAKARTA - The agency representing singer Kim Junsu has released a statement regarding reports that he was threatened by a BJ (broadcaster jockey) or online streamer.

On November 13, the police reportedly received an arrest warrant for A, a BJ on the video platform SOOP or formerly known as AfreecaTV on charges of blackmail under the Act on Severe Punishment for Certain Economic Crimes.

A is claimed to have extorted 840 million won from Kim Junsu since September 2020 since last month. A and Kim Junsu have been interacting since 2019, then recorded their conversations and threatened to spread the recordings on social media for money.

On November 15, the Gyeonggi police announced that they had arrested A and were processing the investigation. However, they could not comment because the investigation process was still ongoing.

On the same day, Palm Tree Island, Kim Junsu's agency, released an official statement.

"As previously reported, A illegally recorded a conversation with Kim Junsu and threatened to spread it on social media. A continued to threaten, saying, “Even though I know Kim Junsu is innocent, one false article can tarnish an artist’s image,” Palm Tree Island said.

“A continues to exploit Kim Junsu, who is a celebrity, to continue these threats, knowing that public attention can be manipulated. Even though he knows Junsu is innocent, A continues to take advantage,” it said.

The agency emphasized that Kim Junsu is the victim in this case, so he decided to take it to the authorities.

“Realizing that there are many victims of A, Kim Junsu decided to take legal action so as not to cause further harm,” it said.

“Currently, the case is in the process of examining a court warrant, so we ask for your understanding that we cannot provide a detailed explanation at this time. We will release an additional statement after the investigation and trial are complete,” the agency continued.

“Lastly, we would like to reiterate that Kim Junsu did not commit any illegal or criminal acts related to this incident and is clearly a victim,” the agency concluded.