MOMOLAND sexually harassed in Mexico, MLD Entertainment to take legal action

Over the past two decades, the Hallyu Wave has seen many K-pop acts become international stars. However, the last two to three years have been more active as more K-pop acts than ever before are now known outside of Korea.

So when Momoland travelled to Mexico, the trip was highly-anticipated by fans. However, not all K-pop fans are the same.

Unfortunately for Momoland, the trip turned sour after some began sexually harassing the girls at a fan meeting. Not only that, one fan was even reportedly caught masturbating during their concert.

Sasaeng fans go beyond Korean borders

In South Korea, a “sasaeng” is an obsessive fan who stalks or engages in other behavior that may constitute an invasion of privacy, personal boundary, or self-respect. Sadly for Momoland, they had to deal with said sasaeng fans during their fan meeting in Mexico.

Recent tweets shared among K-pop fans at the event reveal that others present were not accommodating for Momoland. They detail that some resorted to sexual harassment, sexist remarks, and bullying.

The individual caught masturbating was reportedly escorted off the venue. However, what Momoland endured is an underlying problem most K-pop girl groups are known to have to endure.

Many K-pop fans have taken to social media to show their support for Momoland, demanding they deserve better. They even started using the hashtag #MerriesAgainstMen to help push their cause.

MLD Entertainment has given up tolerating Momoland’s abuse

The voices of all the fans standing up for Momoland have seemingly been heard as their agency, MLD Entertainment, says it will be taking legal action on cases such as this one.

On Friday, July 5, 2019, MLD Entertainment made an official announcement that it had employed the services of a law firm to pursue legal action against malicious commenters who spread false rumors and/or sexually harass Momoland through online posts.

“Hello. This is MLD Entertainment.

Our agency has decided that we can no longer ignore the repeated malicious online comments, sexual harassment, spreading of false rumors, and malicious posts about our artist Momoland. In order to respond with strong legal action, we have decided to work together with law firm Wonjin and file a lawsuit against such malicious commenters.

Up until now, we have gathered evidence through our own monitoring as well as fans’ reports, and together with law firm Wonjin, we have been discussing the process of responding with legal action. In light of the extreme damages suffered by our artists due to the out-of-line behavior of these malicious commenters, we plan to take strong measures [against such commenters] in the future, without any leniency.

We will continue to do our utmost to protect the rights of our artists in the future as well.

Once again, we would like to express our deep gratitude to the many people who love Momoland.”

Since the legal action has just started, there is no information on how the law firm will handle the situation in Mexico. Nevertheless, it is a step in the right direction for MLD Entertainment to protect Momoland.

Presently, Momoland is in the midst of international post-promotions for their fifth extended play (EP) or mini-album, Show Me, featuring the song I’m So Hot. For K-pop fans, especially in the Americas, interested in owning a physical copy of Momoland’s latest comeback, it is available through YesAsia.

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