Are agencies to blame for the repeat male idol “molka” and “sex crime” scandals in the K-pop industry?

Article: I like ‘Korean Oppa’… K-Pop Fandom ‘Shaken’ by Idol Sex Crimes

Source: Kookmin Ilbo

Every year, there are more and more cases of idols from small and medium-sized agencies being found guilty of sex crimes. There are concerns that the K-pop industry, which is greatly affected by an artists’ image is being tarnished by repeated sex crime incidents.

Former NCT member Taeil’s exclusive contract with his agency SM Entertainment was recently terminated after he was accused of sexual crimes. On the 16th, SM released a statement stating, “Taeil is currently under investigation by the prosecution in a criminal case. This is grounds for termination under the exclusive contract, and have mutually decided with the artist to terminate the exclusive contract.” The music industry responded noting SM’s actions as unusual. 

An entertainment industry insider stated on the 17th, “This is the first time I’ve seen SM terminate a contract. Since Kangin, they’ve had a number of big and small incidents but I never would’ve imagined that a member of a company’s flagship group would do something like this.”

In recent years, there have been several idols who have been involved in sexual crimes and have been on the photo line. Former TVXQ member Park Yoochun was accused of sexually assaulting a female employee of an adult entertainment establishment (room salon) and was found not guilty but effectively kicked out of the entertainment industry as his image had fallen to rock bottom. Seungri, formerly of Big Bang, singer Jung Joon-young, and Choi Jong-hoon, formerly of FT Island, were implicated in the Burning Sun club incident and their sexual crimes were exposed, and they served prison sentences and were released. Himchan, formerly of BAP, committed another sexual crime while on trial for a sexual crime and received a suspended sentence in May. 

Sex crimes can occur in any profession, but in the K-pop industry, which targets women in their teens and twenties and conducts fandom business, sex crimes by idols are bound to be even more fatal. It cannot be overlooked that K-pop is gaining popularity not only in Korea but also around the world. Furthermore, as fandoms’ involvement in the industry has increased significantly, the importance of risk management for artists has also increased significantly. 

Pop culture critic Jeong Deok-hyeon stated, “Idols who go through the trainee process are placed in an environment where it is difficult to develop general social skills. I think that since they’ve been under an agency since they were young and have accumulated a lot of stress due to oppression, it’s likely that that stress will surface once they become famous. In addition to character-related education, methods and conditions for them to relieve stress in a healthy way should be provided. Agencies should approach this issue from the perspective of risk management.”

However, it is realistically difficult for agencies to control an adult members’ every move. Another music industry insider emphasized, “These days, most agencies have a systematic education system for character in addition to skills like performance and singing. Artists know that if they do something wrong, it will affect the team, so they are all very careful. We are continuing to educate them, but realistically, that alone has limitations in preventing everything. Famous K-pop idols should have that much sense of responsibility.”