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Korea: "Anti-fan" said to attack singer with laser pointer during concert

Singer Jung Chaeyeon of girl group I.O.I had an apparent laser pointer aimed at her face and into her eye during a televised performance on October 26 2016. She continued to sing and appeared to be unfazed and unhurt by the light.

The incident occurred on MBC Music’s “Show Champion” television show. Video shows a brief, approximately 5-second period when a relatively dim light can be seen on Chaeyeon’s face:

Pic 2016-10-31 at 2.43.12 AM

Pic 2016-10-31 at 2.42.14 AM

An alleged screenshot on Koreaboo.com (below, top images) shows a brighter dot that is yellow with red glowing edges. However, the dot appears to be photoshopped since a video screenshot of the same moment captured by LaserPointerSafety.com shows a dimmer dot (below, bottom images):

Jung Chaeyeon laser Koreaboo screenshot
Jung Chaeyeon laser Koreaboo closeup
From Koreaboo.com; oval added on Koreaboo version. Closeup on bottom.

Jung Chaeyeon laser LPS screenshot
Jung Chaeyeon laser LPS closeup
Video capture at 00:28. Closeup on bottom.


The original video is here (light spot appears from approximately 00:25 to 00:30):



The Google-translated headline on a story from Korean website Dispatch.co.kr is “ ‘Fans rage, threatening safety’ … jeongchaeyeon laser beam terrorism”

According to Koreaboo.com, the alleged laser pointer came from an “anti-fan.” This is a concept where people who dislike celebrities will take negative actions against the celebrity or their fans. For example, one girl group member, Gan Mi-Yeon, received “scores of ‘fan mail’ filled with razors … along with pictures of her with her eyes taken out or letters written in blood.” In 2000, a boy band member was given a soda injected with bleach; his mother happened to drink it and was hospitalized.

Article in English from Koreaboo.com. Original article from Dispatch.co.kr, English translation from Google. Anti-fan information from the Ask A Korean blog.