K-pop stars Johnny and Haechan deny 'indecent activities' allegations during Japan tour

K-pop stars, including NCT members Johnny and Haechan and Super Junior’s Heechul, recently made headlines. The singers were accused of engaging in 'indecent activities' with fans during their tour in Japan in March. However, their agency has denied the allegations.

The claims garnered more eyeballs after blurred pictures from the alleged incident went viral on the internet. In the blurred photos shared by a social media account, three women were seen holding hotel cards where the K-pop idols allegedly resided. Purported evidence showed claims of alcohol and cigarette consumption during their time together.

While the images are blurred and no one’s face is identifiable, the claims by the women formed the base for the allegations. This soon gained momentum with various K-media organisations reporting about the same. Heechul of Super Junior was pulled in this controversy after private photos of him with one of the three women mentioned in the controversy went viral.

NCT's agency, SM Entertainment, released a statement shortly after and denied the allegations: “Hello, this is SM Entertainment. Currently, rumours surrounding Johnny and Haechan’s involvement with prostitution, drugs, and other indecent content are being reproduced and spread online. After verifying the facts, these allegations are not true at all, and [these rumours] are criminal acts that seriously defame our artists. In addition, malicious rumours and slander continue to be spread about NCT and our other artists, including Heechul. We have already gathered sufficient evidence regarding numerous posts related to these matters.”

The music label also underlined that they won’t be showing any leniency in the matter. “We will not overlook such criminal acts and will take legal action against those involved without leniency or settlement, regardless of their nationality,” SM stated.

As soon as the news went viral, SM Entertainment’s stock price took a fall. The news came at the time when BBC’s documentary, titled ‘Burning Sun,' put the spotlight back on former K-pop idols convicted on sex scandal charges. For those unaware, Seungri, a former member of BigBang, Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong-hoon of rock band FT Island, were convicted by a South Korean court in a drug and sex abuse case against them.