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HYBE identifies hate account linking BTS to Danworld and posting negative comments about LE SSERAFIM; lawsuits likely to follow
The identity of the hate account Guilty Archive’s user has been revealed, and HYBE may be preparing legal action against them. Read more.
Several HYBE groups were maligned online by the content posted by a problematic X (formerly Twitter) account. The account was identified to be Guilty Archive in July last year and following that, HYBE appealed for the discovery of its operator in the U.S. and further evidence. Recently, the operator's identity has been revealed, with him apologizing and also declaring the halting of activities, as reported by K-media Seoul Wire on March 25. However, the case likely wouldn't stop here and a series of lawsuits might follow.
On July 9, 2024, HYBE filed a 50 million KRW damages lawsuit against the operator of the Guilty Archive. As part of the lawsuit, the entertainment label requested to uncover the operator's identity at the US District Court for the Northern District of California, which they approved. They also ordered the issuance of a subpoena for the same, but X (formerly Twitter) objected to the subpoena, delaying the process of the identity revelation. To overcome this hurdle, HYBE applied for a court order on November 14, requesting X to hand over necessary documents.
The court granted this request on December 3, ordering X to comply. As a result, HYBE was set to receive the Guilty Archive channel operator's information within 14 days. Since X did not challenge the court order, the platform will have to hand over the user's information to HYBE. The issue stemmed from the Guilty Archive operator's posting of "several false, defamatory, or harassing posts about HYBE," as per attorney Kim Moon Hee of Yulchon Law Firm, who represented the agency in the case.
The claims included BTS' links to Danworld (a religious group HYBE CEO Bang Si Hyuk is part of), an ILLIT member accidentally following a Twitter account that posted malicious comments about NJZ (formerly known as NewJeans) and negative comments about LE SSERAFIM. Following their identity exposure threat, the account user reportedly issued an apology, stating no matter what his intention was, his actions were incorrect. They also declared that they will "take responsibility for my actions and temporarily suspend the operation of my Guilty Archive account as a form of self-reflection.”
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