NewJeans have received death threats ahead of their highly-anticipated fan meeting at the Tokyo Dome in Japan on June 26 and 27, 2024.
The threatening post, which included a photo of a knife, has sparked concern and outrage among fans. They are calling for greater security and protection for the members.
On June 24, a post on DC Inside with a photo of a knife hinting at a stabbing attack went viral, saying, “I bought this to use when NewJeans hold a fanmeeting.”
The author of the post directly threatened NewJeans members, saying, “When NewJeans get off the van, I am gonna give them one [stab] each.”
Fans took swift action after discovering a threatening post that included a death threat and a photo of a knife, prompting them to report it to the authorities en masse. Some fans confirmed that they directly filed a police report, while others alerted the group’s agency, ADOR.
The post has since been deleted, and investigations revealed that the image used was a recycled photo from an e-commerce site, previously used in a separate incident involving a high school stabbing threat.
In a similar past incident, a teenager was arrested for posting a threat about stabbing a girls’ high school. The individual who posted the threatening message about NewJeans may face potential charges for intimidation, regardless of whether they intended to carry out the threat.
They are currently fully engaged in their debut activities in Japan. With the upcoming fan meeting ‘Bunnies Camp 2024 Tokyo Dome’ set to take place at the Tokyo Dome on June 26-27, the threat of a stabbing has sparked significant worries.
NewJeans enters Tokyo Dome just 1 year and 11 months after debut, the shortest time frame for a K-pop artist. During this performance, they will showcase a set of 24 songs, including 4 brand-new tracks.