On July 1, netizens gathered in an online thread, titled, "Male Fan Sexually Harassing Female Idol In Communication App." The author highlighted that the female idol in question was none other than Soomin of fifth-gen K-pop girl group tripleS.
According to the post, the caption stressed out Soomin being underage, and alleged that the male fan who had left out an inappropriate message was in his thirties.
The inappropriate remark was sent on the messaging app FROMM, which also caught the attention of Soomin herself.
"tripleS Soomin was born in '07," OP shared. "And thinking about how a fan in his 30s leaving comments like this is..."
Fan:"I want to smack Soomin's lips and make her go 'wub wub' (Translator's note: Sound when you're restraining someone from speaking)."
Soomin:"Yare yare (Translator's note: Japanese expression that means 'phew' or 'good grief')."
"This tripleS member is a '07-liner," OP exclaimed.
Korean netizens couldn't hide their disgust for the fan and were outraged by the comment. Some conveyed that the fan should be sued, while others demanded the agency MODHAUS to protect their artists.
"Wow, this is honestly disgusting. Sending something like this to a minor. F**k, they can't be in their right mind."
"They need to monitor things like these and blacklist them right away."
Reply: "That's why those messages were deleted right away. I don't understand how people are spreading this around."
"This is disgusting. Does this person know that this is sexual abuse?"
"Do they think that it's fun?"
"They need to be blacklisted."
"Can we request the personal information of that person and sue them for sexual harassment?"
"Why do this to such a young kid? Disgusting."
"They need to sue that person for sexual harassment. This is disgusting."
"What is the company doing? They should filter these messages out."
Meanwhile, Western fans were also enraged by the message and lambasted the fan for displaying predatory behavior.
"I honestly wish companies don't make idols have their own fan chat or read comments unfiltered because a 16-17 year-old reading about this from incels is terrible."
"These creeps are free to walk around in the society and have a right to vote. It scares me."
"There's something very wrong with anyone leaving sexual comments about someone that young and this man is in his thirties? Predatory, deviant behavior!"
"These kinds of messages are so disgusting. Why would anyone send these? She must have felt uncomfortable."
