#SHOWBIZ: Japanese woman who kissed BTS' Jin without consent turns herself in
SEOUL: A Japanese woman in her 50s who allegedly kissed BTS member Jin without his consent last year has voluntarily turned herself in after returning to South Korea recently.
Korea JoongAng Daily reported yesterday that the police said the woman has been charged with sexual harassment in a public space under the country's special law on sexual crimes.
Under South Korean law, sexual harassment in a public place can lead to one year in jail or a fine of up to three million won (about RM9,247).
The incident reportedly happened on June 13 last year at a fan event at Jamsil Arena in Seoul, a day after the 32-year-old star whose full name is Kim Seok-jin finished his military service.
During the event, where 1,000 fans were invited to hug Jin, the woman was said to have kissed the K-pop star on the cheek.
Viral photos and videos showed Jin looking shocked and uncomfortable, which led to public anger and debate.
"My lips touched his neck. His skin was so soft," the woman reportedly wrote online later, which sparked even more criticism.
After someone reported the case through a government petition site, police started an investigation.
With help from Interpol in Japan, police identified the woman and booked her last month.
Investigators also found that another woman may have tried to kiss or touch Jin at the same event, but she has not been found.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
5 hours ago
- The Sun
Moscow security chief discusses Ukraine with N.Korea's Kim Jong Un
MOSCOW: Russia's security chief Sergei Shoigu discussed the Ukraine conflict with North Korea's Kim Jong Un on a visit to Pyongyang on Wednesday, Moscow's embassy in the reclusive state said. North Korea has become one of Russia's main allies during Moscow's more than three-year-long Ukraine offensive, sending thousands of troops to help the Kremlin oust Ukrainian forces from its Kursk border region. Pyongyang is also largely believed to be arming Russia. 'Sergei Shoigu was received by the Chairman of State Affairs of the DPRK, Kim Jong Un,' the embassy said, adding that they 'exchanged views on the situation around the Ukrainian crisis and the Korean peninsula'. It said talks took place 'in an atmosphere of friendly mutual understanding'. Shoigu also met with North Korean military official Pak Jong-chon, the embassy said. Russia's TASS news agency said earlier that Shoigu had arrived on the orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Wednesday's visit is Shoigu's second to Pyongyang in less than three months. Pyongyang has defended its military cooperation with Russia, saying on Monday that ties were aimed at 'ensuring peace and stability' in Europe and Asia. Around 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded fighting for Russia, according to South Korean lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun, citing the country's intelligence service. Russia and North Korea signed a sweeping military deal last year, including a mutual defence clause, during a rare visit by Putin to the nuclear-armed North. Shoigu hailed the deal as 'fully meeting the interests of both countries' during a visit in March.
The Star
8 hours ago
- The Star
Japanese mother of abductee frustrated by lack of resolution to issue; no abductees have returned to Japan from North Korea since 2002
Sakie Yokota speaks during a press conference next to a photo of her deceased husband Shigeru in Kawasaki on Tuesday (June 3, 2025). - Photo: The Yomiuri Shimbun KAWASAKI, (Japan): The mother of a Japanese woman abducted by North Korea said she is saddened by the absence of her husband and frustrated at 'not being able to resolve the situation.' Sakie Yokota, 89, spoke at a press conference in Kawasaki, where she lives, on Tuesday (June 3), two days before the fifth anniversary of her husband Shigeru's death. Their daughter Megumi was kidnapped when she was 13. Shigeru became the first representative of the Association of Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea, which was formed in 1997. Shigeru traveled across the country, making appeals to resolve the issue. However, he was never able to reunite with his daughter. On Tuesday, Yokota recalled how her husband always ate the food she prepared and told her how delicious it was. '[Shigeru] talked to me about everything,' she said. 'He was a very kind person.' Regarding the abductees, five returned to Japan in October 2002, but since then, not a single person has been returned. Yokota said she talks to Shigeru's photo, which she keeps in the living room, every day. She tells him, 'It has been so long and there has been no change.' Akihiro Arimoto, the father of another abductee Keiko Arimoto, who was abducted when she was 23, died in February at 96, leaving Yokota as the only member of abductees' parents' generation still alive. 'I don't know if I will ever be able to see [Megumi] again either,' Yokota said. 'I hope the government will work on the issue more seriously.' - Yomiuri Shimbun
The Sun
a day ago
- The Sun
Lee Jae-myung's rise from poverty to brink of South Korean presidency
SEOUL: Lawsuits, scandals, armed troops and a knife-wielding attacker all failed to deter Lee Jae-myung's ascendancy from sweatshop worker to the cusp of South Korea's presidency. After losing by a razor-thin margin in 2022, the left-leaning Democratic Party candidate is now poised to be elected head of state in a landslide, according to exit polls. Opponents decry Lee, 60, for his populist style. But his rags-to-riches personal story sets him apart from many of South Korea's political elite. After dropping out of school to work at a factory to support his family, he suffered a disabling elbow injury in an industrial accident. He earned a scholarship to study law and passed the bar to become an attorney. Lee has used this origin story to cultivate a loyal support base and frame himself as understanding the struggles of the underprivileged. 'You can worry about people outside shivering in the cold while you sit in your warm living room,' Lee told AFP in a 2022 interview. 'But you can never really understand their pain.' Polls suggest Lee has won more than 50 percent of the vote -- beating conservative challenger Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party in a race triggered by the impeachment of former president Yoon Suk Yeol over his brief declaration of martial law in December. - Live-streaming a crisis - South Korea has experienced a leadership vacuum since lawmakers suspended Yoon for deploying armed troops to parliament in his failed attempt to suspend civilian rule. During the tense minutes following that move, Lee live-streamed his frantic scramble over the perimeter fence as he and other lawmakers rushed to vote down the martial law decree. 'It was a race against time,' he recalled in an interview with AFP. Lee previously served as mayor of Seongnam, south of Seoul, for eight years. In that role, he helped shut down what had been the country's largest dog meat market -- ending a trade that had once involved 80,000 canines a year. He later served as governor of Gyeonggi Province -- the country's most populous region surrounding the capital -- for more than three years. Lee lost his 2022 bid for the presidency to Yoon by one of the smallest margins in South Korean history. In 2024, he was stabbed in the neck by a man posing as a supporter and was airlifted to hospital for emergency surgery. The attacker later confessed that his intention was to kill Lee to prevent him from becoming president. If elected, Lee has vowed, among other things, to boost South Korea's artificial intelligence industry, with the goal of making the country one of the top three global leaders in the field. He has also called for holding those involved in the martial law attempt accountable -- promising to 'bring insurrection elements to justice'. During his early days in politics, Lee drew criticism for his confrontational attacks on political opponents. But Kim Hye-kyung, his wife of 34 years with whom he shares two children, insists Lee speaks with 'deliberation'. 'He's someone who's come up from the margins, from the very bottom,' she said in a 2017 interview. 'Just like how a flea has to jump to be noticed, I hope people can understand and view him in that context.' - Legal troubles - Lee has been dogged by legal troubles of his own, including allegations of corruption tied to a real estate development and violations of election law through the dissemination of false information. He has denied any wrongdoing, insisting the charges are politically motivated. In early May, Seoul's Supreme Court overturned a lower court's acquittal of Lee on election law charges and ordered a retrial. But with the election looming, the Seoul High Court postponed the proceedings until after the June 3 vote. If Lee wins, legal experts say the proceedings would be suspended due to presidential immunity, and would only resume after his single five-year term ends in 2030. Lee's opponents argue the charges are serious enough to disqualify him from running. 'With these kinds of corruption allegations, how can you seek public office?' Kim Moon-soo, his main rival in the election, said during a recent televised debate.
