The BBC (British Broadcasting Co-operation) broadcast Burning Sun, a documentary about secret chat groups of prominent K-pop stars that provided false information. More details surface as we dive into what happened during this infamous K-pop scandal!
Since the documentary aired, KBS (Korean Broadcasting System) released a statement on May 22, 2024, based on the BBC providing some wrong information. The BBC confirmed that the legal advice received by Jung Joon Young’s ex-girlfriend did not come from a KBS lawyer but from independent counsel, she sought herself. She said clarification was included in the BBC’s official communication to KBS early in the morning, Korean time.
The BBC has since removed the incorrect content from the documentary and has publicized these corrections on their platforms. KBS also mentioned that the BBC explained this error was due to their oversight, not the fault of the interviewed reporter, Park Hyo Sil.
The TV documentary “Burning Sun – Exposed the Secrets of K-pop chat groups” was gripping, and it was not surprising with the power play that the K-pop stars were accused of and also seen to be doing and bragging about in their chat groups, as I also work in the same industry.
Thanks to Seoul-based reporters, Park Hyo Sil and Kang Kyung Yoon, whose journalism revealed, at a huge personal cost, horrific sex abuse committed by seemingly wholesome heartthrobs of the K-pop world, it shows a dark side of the Korean entertainment industry, success, money, power and connections, which is why the stars got away with their crimes for far too long.
Overview:
In 2019, new allegations about Jung’s actions surfaced. In 2016, he had left his phone with a forensics company during the police investigation. Three years later, an anonymous informant with access to it decided to leak it. It reached Kang Kyung Yoon, an entertainment reporter with Korea's largest broadcaster, SBS. She was about to finish what Park had started.
The data contained Jung’s chat messages from KakaoTalk, a messaging app, from 2015 and 2016. “My heart still hurts when I think of that,” Kang says as she found sexually explicit videos and images of unconscious women, which involved Jung and other male K-pop stars. Among them was Choi Jong Hoon, lead guitarist of rock band FT Island. One exchange contained details of the gang rape of an unconscious woman, by Jung, Choi, and others.
As Kang looked through the phone, she spotted clues which hinted at why this group felt above the law – some messages implied they were being protected by a senior police contact. The BBC Eye documentary shows how the celebrities’ seemingly untouchable status started to unravel, and Kang’s role in this as she went to press, exposing the behavior of the chat-group members.
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For me, I have to say that although it's sad to say I don't find it surprising that events like this did take place, as it comes across like a play for power because of money and success which I think is just really sad. There is a saying that you should never meet your idol.
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