Sex offenders hiding behind fandom... When will we tolerate sexual harassment of female stars? [★FOCUS]

*This content was translated by AI.

They suffered indescribable and irreparable scars while trying to connect closely with fans.

Shockingly, repeated incidents of audience members crossing the line into sexual harassment against female artists who descended from the stage — from girl group Cats Eye’s Megan to singer Mina and DJ Soda — are occurring with alarming frequency.

Recently, Megan of Cats Eye experienced an unpleasant incident of being sexually harassed by an audience member during a concert in Paris, France. Through her fan communication platform, she revealed, "Someone grabbed my chest; I was quite startled." She firmly drew the line: "It’s truly wonderful to see fans’ faces up close and hold their hands, but I hope no one touches inappropriate areas."

Videos showing Megan visibly startled and deeply flustered as she walked among audience members off-stage spread across various online communities and SNS, sparking public outrage among fans. Nevertheless, Megan expressed, "I understand the excitement and thrill. Let us all respect each other so we can safely share this beautiful moment together," demonstrating mature leadership even in such an unpleasant situation.

Such shocking on-stage sexual harassment crimes are not happening for the first time. In 2023, Mina appeared on Channel S’s variety show 'Noldun Unni' and confessed to a horrifying experience of sexual harassment during a past military welfare performance.

At that time, Mina revealed, "We had prepared a first-come-first-served handshake event, but suddenly a crowd rushed over, surrounded me, and one person behind me started rubbing and touching my chest," provoking viewers' anger. Even more shocking was that this was not an impulsive act.

Mina added, "It wasn’t just one person acting by chance; it was a coordinated effort by all of them. I was on the verge of being reported to military authorities, but since I was so young, they asked for leniency, and I was spared from formal charges." She shared this bitter anecdote about forgiving perpetrators who had brazenly planned their crime, all for the sake of young soldiers.

DJ Soda (real name Hwang So-hee) also suffered serious sexual harassment in August 2023 during a performance at the Osaka Music Circus Festival in Japan, where multiple audience members explicitly touched her chest and other body parts.

Immediately after the incident, DJ Soda posted on personal SNS: "It wasn’t just one person; several suddenly grabbed my chest, leaving me helpless against sexual harassment." She continued, "I was extremely startled and scared, but there were also fans who cried out of joy at seeing me, so I pretended nothing happened and finished the performance to the end."

Later, appearing on MBC Every One’s variety show 'I Am Angry Right Now,' she expressed severe trauma: "During my time as a DJ, this never happened even once, so it’s hard to believe. It was truly the most shameful experience I’ve ever had. In the future, it will be difficult for me to approach fans easily from below or in front of the stage."

Nevertheless, in November of the same year, she appeared on YouTube’s 'Nobbakku Tak Jae-hoon' and shared recent updates: "Even after such an incident, I showed myself enjoying things in Japan, so it became a big news story. They called me a 'mental monster.' Yet, I took responsibility for the stage until the end."

Artists who fully trust their fans and descend from the stage to connect with them are increasingly becoming targets of sexual harassment by some thoughtless audience members. Now more than ever, strict sanctions and mature fan awareness are urgently needed to prevent such ugly criminal acts from recurring.

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*This content was translated by AI.