South Korean conservatives have filed dozens of online reports to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) against singer IU and other celebrities who have publicly supported protests calling for the impeachment of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The anonymous users posted screenshots of their reports to the US federal agency online.
A YouTuber named Americanparangi encouraged his viewers to report the singer, revealing the message they had written to the federal agency.
“Hello CIA staff, thank you for working hard every single day. I am sending you this message to report a Korean singer named IU. Her real name is Lee Ji Eun. She recently showed support for the impeachment of the South Korean president. She also provided food to the protesters who supported the impeachment of the South Korean president. It seems to me that she is taking the initiative to help the Korean impeachment demonstrations. She is a famous Korean singer and has great influence.
I’m sure the American government has already noticed that the impeachment of the Korean president is controlled by Chinese forces. Additionally, Korean citizens who participated in the protests were recently denied visas and entry to the United States. There is so much happening in Korea right now. Once again, I write this message to report Lee Ji Eun. He showed his support for the impeachment of the Korean president.”
— American Parangi
Users of the controversial website DC Inside also encouraged others to follow in their footsteps, sharing a compiled list of celebrities who have publicly supported Yoon’s impeachment.
Some users have claimed that the celebrities in question actively support communist forces.
They also called for a boycott of products sold by companies endorsed by IU and other celebrities, sharing a list of the brands.
When conservatives revealed their reports to the CIA, some received automatic rejections from the site, as Sports Chosun reported.
Sports Chosun
“You sent too many reports too quickly. Only one report allowed every 10 minutes from the same computer,” the automated message said. “This policy is designed to reduce report spam. If your second submission was intended to add or clarify information in the first report, we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused.”
IU, one of South Korea’s most influential singers, recently paid for meals and hot compresses, bread, drinks, beef bone soup and rice cakes for protesters taking part in demonstrations against the president.
His agency, Edam Entertainment, announced the support in an official post on the fan site, providing instructions on how to redeem the meals and hot compresses.
Other celebrities who have been criticized for their political views include singer Lee Chae-yeon, former member of girl group Iz*One.
“As a citizen and member of society, I will decide for myself when and what to talk about,” Lee said.
