Two South Korean journalists who helped expose a sex scandal involving K-pop stars have spoken about the immense personal sacrifices they made in pursuit of the truth. Park Hyo-sil, a newspaper reporter, and Kang Kyung-yoon, an entertainment reporter for SBS, were instrumental in bringing the case to light, but faced severe backlash and trauma.
In September 2016, Park received a tip-off from a police source about a case involving secretly recorded sex footage and singer-songwriter Jung Joon-young. She published the story, which quickly made headlines across South Korea. However, Jung's management dismissed the allegations, and fans turned on Park, bombarding her with abusive comments, death threats, and obscene images. Pregnant at the time, Park suffered two miscarriages, which she believes were influenced by the stress.
Three years later, Kang Kyung-yoon obtained a copy of Jung's phone data from an anonymous informant. She uncovered a group chat containing sexually explicit videos and images of unconscious women, shared among Jung, Choi Jong-hoon of FT Island, and Seungri of BigBang. The messages included descriptions of gang rape, with Jung calling it 'the funniest night of my entire life.' Kang described the content as 'disgusting' and said her heart still hurts when she thinks about it.
The journalists' stories are featured in a BBC World Service documentary and the podcast 'Intrigue: Burning Sun.' Their experiences highlight the personal toll that investigative journalism can take, particularly when exposing powerful figures in the entertainment industry.
