A South Korean entertainment company, criticized for its handling of a row over a teenage Taiwanese K-pop star forced to apologize for waving the nation’s flag, has had its Web site brought down by hackers, a spokesman said yesterday.
JYP Entertainment, which represents singer Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), said the company’s home page had been down since Saturday as the result of an apparent cyberattack.
“We’re working to fix the problem, but we don’t know how long it will take to restore it,” he said.
The company had been accused of coercing Chou into recording an online video apology after footage of her waving a Republic of China flag triggered an angry reaction in China — a key market for JYP.
Chou’s flag-waving was seen by some as a pro-independence gesture.
In her video, which was issued by JYP, a shaken-looking Chou bowed, apologized and said that there was “only one China.”
The move sparked a backlash in Taiwan and South Korea, with complaints that Chou had been unfairly targeted and criticism of JYP for kowtowing to China and exerting undue pressure on the 16-year-old.
JYP Entertainment denied it had “forced” her to issue an apology, but acknowledged it was party to her decision to so.
“Her parents visited Seoul and we had a three-way meeting with Chou and her parents,” Kim said.
The row became a major topic of discussion in the final days of the Taiwan’s historic election, which saw it elect its first female president on Saturday.
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