The man responsible for spreading false rumors about singer and actress IU has agreed to perform 200 hours of community service in exchange for his charges being dropped.
The remarks concerned a photo accidentally posted by IU in November of 2012. In the photo of herself and Super Junior's Eunhyk, it looked as if they were sitting on a bed together. When rumors began to spread that the two were actually in the same bed, the actress clarified that they were merely good friends and sitting on a couch. He was sick and she was taking care of him. Her mother was with them. But despite her explanation, the rumors did not stop. They only escalated. Soon the rumors said that IU and Eunhyuk were getting married because she was pregnant.
IU, the star of "You're The Best Lee Soon Shin," was naturally upset and publicly apologized to Eunhyuk for accidentally uploading the photo. He was not upset. But nothing she said would stop the malicious comments.
Loen Entertainment, IU's management agency expressed disappointment that such obviously false rumors could spread so quickly and promised to take strong actions against anyone creating and spreading rumors. The agency vowed to catch and prosecute whoever was creating and spreading the rumors.
Six months later Loen Entertainment filed charges with the Seoul Prosecutor's Office. A police investigative team tracked down the culprit's IP address and by September the person who spread the rumors was in custody.
The case was settled quickly. According to the Seoul Prosecutor's Office, the agency decided to drop their charges against the man known as "A."
"Person 'A' reached an agreement with Loen Entertainment to perform 200 hours of community service in exchange for all charges being dropped," said an official statement from the prosecutor's office.
IU is only one of several artists that are currently fighting back against malicious rumors. Two other artists who recently made the news for vowing to prosecute those who spread such rumors were singer Baek Ji Young and actor Kwon Sang Woo. Baek Ji Young was accused of causing her own miscarriage earlier this year and Kwon Sang Woo was accused of cheating on his wife.
If it happens again, Loen Entertainment says, they will file charges.
"From now on the malicious hate comments or any kind of defamation of the character of our artists will be firmly dealt with," said Cho Young Chul of Loen Entertainment."
IU's third album, "Modern Times," which includes a few original songs, was released this week and is doing well.
