G-Dragon takes down malicious commenters: “A 7 million won fine; even anonymous accounts can be punished” [Full official statement]

G-DRAGON's agency, Galaxy Corporation, has announced its position regarding the filing of lawsuits against malicious commenters.

On August 4, Galaxy Corporation stated in an official announcement, "As previously announced in February, based on evidence secured through reports from fans and our own monitoring, we filed complaints with investigative authorities against approximately 100 individuals who created or distributed malicious posts about the artist, on charges including violation of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (defamation)."

It continued, "A number of cases are currently being handled by investigative authorities and the courts. In some cases, the suspects' criminal charges have been recognized, and they have either been referred to the prosecution or brought to criminal trial. Among them, the courts issued summary orders imposing fines ranging from 2 million won to 7 million won against multiple defendants. In separate cases, the prosecution has also requested summary orders imposing fines, and substantive criminal proceedings and legal measures continue to follow."

It further emphasized, "This demonstrates that even when malicious posts are created using anonymous accounts, the author can be identified through investigations and the matter can lead to actual criminal punishment. Based on the evidence already secured, we will continue to hold those responsible to the end in the cases currently in progress, and we will promptly take necessary legal measures, including filing complaints, against any illegal acts identified in the future."

It also urged people to submit reports, saying, "The valuable reports from our fans are being used as important evidence to identify perpetrators of illegal acts and prove the related charges."

Full Text of Galaxy Corporation's Official Statement

Notice on the Progress of Our Response to Infringements of Our Artist's Rights and Interests (08.04)

Hello, this is Galaxy Corporation.

First, we sincerely thank all the fans who have continued to show interest in our efforts to protect the artist's rights and interests and have waited for updates on the progress.

To protect the reputation, rights, and interests of our artist G-DRAGON (hereinafter referred to as the "artist"), we continue to take legal action against various illegal acts occurring online, including defamation, the dissemination of false information, insults, malicious slander, and violations of personal rights and privacy.

We would like to inform you of the major developments since our previous notice on responding to infringements of rights and interests (02.24), as well as our future response policy.

1. Progress of Existing Cases

As previously announced in February, based on evidence secured through reports from fans and our own monitoring, we filed complaints with investigative authorities against approximately 100 individuals who created or distributed malicious posts about the artist, on charges including 「violation of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (defamation)」.

A number of cases are currently being handled by investigative authorities and the courts. In some cases, the suspects' criminal charges have been recognized, and they have been referred to the prosecution or brought to criminal trial. Among them, the courts issued summary orders imposing fines ranging from 2 million won to 7 million won against multiple defendants. In separate cases, the prosecution has also requested summary orders imposing fines, and substantive criminal proceedings and legal measures continue to follow.

This demonstrates that even when malicious posts are created using anonymous accounts, the author can be identified through investigations and the matter can lead to actual criminal punishment. Based on the evidence already secured, we will continue to hold those responsible to the end in the cases currently in progress, and we will promptly take necessary legal measures, including filing complaints, against any illegal acts identified in the future.

Investigations, including the identification of suspects in numerous cases, are still ongoing, and we are actively cooperating with requests from investigative authorities. However, due to the nature of anonymous posts, identifying the author through to the final judicial disposition may take considerable time. We ask for your understanding that we can provide details only within a limited scope, as specific case information may affect investigations and trials. We will continue to provide updates within the scope that can be made public.

2. Additional Legal Action Against Infringements of Rights and Interests

We reiterate that we continuously monitor online communities, portal sites, social media, and video platforms both domestically and internationally, and continuously collect legal evidence regarding the following infringements of rights and interests.

* Creating and distributing false information and malicious rumors whose factual basis has not been verified

* Insulting the artist or maliciously slandering or ridiculing the artist

* Illegally obtaining or distributing the artist's private life information or personal information

* Posting expressions involving sexual harassment, sexual objectification, or the degradation of personal dignity

* Producing or distributing manipulated or composited images, videos, or audio

* Repeatedly creating malicious posts or systematically expanding and reproducing them

Not only the original authors of malicious posts but also those who repeatedly share, expand, or reproduce them are clearly engaging in illegal acts subject to legal action. Furthermore, even if posts are deleted or accounts are made private or changed, legal proceedings continue based on the evidence secured by us.

We are taking all possible civil and criminal legal measures against newly identified infringements of rights and interests. Regarding illegal acts that cause serious harm to the artist, we will respond rigorously under a zero-tolerance policy, without leniency or settlement.

3. Integrated Information on the Channel for Reporting Infringements of the Artist's Rights and Interests

To enable faster and more systematic legal responses in the future, we have reorganized the dedicated channel for reporting infringements of the artist's rights and interests and will operate it as follows.

If you discover a case involving an infringement of rights and interests, please submit it as a single PDF or video (mp4, mov) file organized so that all details of the relevant post (URL, date of posting, poster's ID or nickname, details of the infringement, date of capture, etc.) can be clearly verified.

Images capturing only part of the content, materials missing the URL or author information, and edited versions for which the original is difficult to verify may have limited validity as legal evidence. Submitting materials that are complete as evidence will greatly assist us in conducting a faster and more accurate legal review.

The valuable reports from our fans are being used as important evidence to identify perpetrators of illegal acts and prove the related charges. We once again thank all the fans who continue to show their support and cooperation for the artist.

We will continue to do our utmost to protect the artist's rights and interests so that the artist can work in a healthy and stable environment.

Thank you.