SM Entertainment mounts legal action over malicious online content targeting aespa’s Winter
On December 10, 2025, SM Entertainment issued an official statement (via its reporting channel “KWANGYA 119”) announcing that it is taking legal action to protect aespa’s Winter. The statement said the agency had identified a “large volume of malicious posts and comments” across various online platforms including social media, forums, and community boards that target Winter. These reportedly include sexual harassment, defamation, personal attacks, insults, invasion of privacy, and even “deepfake content.”
"Hello, this is SM Entertainment.We would like to inform you of the progress of our legal action to protect the rights and interests of our artist, aespa WINTER. We are deeply aware of the seriousness of the malicious posts and comments (sexual harassment, defamation, personal attacks, insults, invasion of privacy, deepfakes, etc.) that are continuously occurring in relation to our artists, based on valuable reports from fans received through 'KWANGYA 119' and our own monitoring. In particular, we have confirmed numerous acts of defamation and personal injury against Winter on platforms such as DC Inside, Women's Generation, Nate Pan, Instiz, Theqoo, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube, as well as malicious posts and sexually harassing posts intended to publicly slander the artist. After reviewing these posts, we plan to gradually expand the lawsuit process."
SM declared that it is pursuing both criminal complaints and civil claims against those responsible. Legal measures will be expanded “step-by-step” as more evidence is reviewed, and the company vowed to respond “without leniency.”
The renewed legal action comes amid a wave of online rumors regarding Winter particularly speculation that she is dating Jungkook from BTS. That speculation reportedly triggered a surge in harassment and malicious content aimed at Winter. SM says it has been monitoring major social platforms and communities including but not limited to DC Inside, Women’s Generation, Nate Pann, Instiz, TheQoo, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube and has identified “numerous” defamatory or harassing posts about Winter.
The agency’s latest move follows earlier legal action in 2025 and prior years against people who distributed manipulated videos or false content targeting its artists, sometimes resulting in convictions, fines, or prison sentences.
Media outlets and fan communities have reacted strongly. Some applaud SM’s decision as a necessary step to protect artist privacy and well-being given the severity of harassment and the use of manipulated content. Others warn that such issues reflect a broader problem of toxic behavior online in fandoms. On a fan forum about the matter, one user wrote: “The toxicity of some people in K-pop fandoms is gross.” Meanwhile, the situation reflects a continuing trend of entertainment agencies stepping up to legally challenge defamation, harassment, and deepfakes that target idols.
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