South Korean singer Kim Jae-joong has addressed his stalker fans – or sasaengs in Korean – in a series of posts on Instagram Story.
Yesterday (January 22), veteran K-pop idol Kim Jae-joong took to Instagram Story to call out sasaeng fans and the taxi service that allegedly help them stalk him and other South Korean celebrities.
“The drivers follow me relentlessly, saying they have to do what the passenger tells them to do,” he wrote, as translated by Koreaboo. “They make a profit off harassing me emotionally and wasting my time.”
The singer then said that “times have changed” since his career started, claiming that he has obtained “footage” of these activities and will have the law “deal with those of you who violate other people’s private lives”.
“It’s been 20 years. Let’s put an end to this,” Kim Jae-joong added. “I haven’t had to do so in a while, but here I am, checking behind me when I’m eating, making sure no one is following me while I’m walking.”
In a follow-up post, wrote that he “can’t believe these are my ‘fans’”, while saying that he hopes his juniors in the K-pop industry “don’t ever have to experience this”.
In a third Instagram Story, Kim Jae-joong shared a business card from one of these sasaeng taxi services, and wrote: “This is exactly why you sasaeng taxi drivers are worse than the sasaengs who ride them.”
Kim made his debut in 2003 as a member of the boyband TVXQ. He and two fellow members, Kim Jun-su and Park Yoo-chun, would later leave both the group in 2010 and following a lawsuit against their then-label SM Entertainment over their contracts.
Over the past 10 years, the singer has released three studio albums and one mini-album in South Korea. His latest project was the record ‘Born Gene’ in September 2022.
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