Two criminal cases involving Korean actress Han Ji Min and JANNABI vocalist Choi Jung Hoon turned out to have the same defendant. On October 17, 2026, Han Ji Min's agency confirmed it, one day after a Seoul court sentenced the woman who threatened the actress online.
Who was behind both the Han Ji Min threats and the Choi Jung Hoon stalking?
The person behind both cases is a woman in her thirties, identified in all reports only as "A." On October 17, 2026, BH Entertainment confirmed that the woman fined for threatening Han Ji Min is the same person who was previously sentenced for stalking Choi Jung Hoon, the vocalist of the band JANNABI and Han's boyfriend . Her identity has not been made public. Coverage refers to her only by that initial.
Quick Answer: A woman in her thirties, known only as "A," threatened actress Han Ji Min online and had earlier stalked her boyfriend, JANNABI's Choi Jung Hoon. A Seoul court fined her 6 million won on October 16, 2026. She had already been fined 5 million won for the stalking, so her fines total 11 million won.
The connection came to light during the trial over the Han Ji Min case. In that case, A was charged with uploading 19 malicious posts targeting the actress on social media between September and October 2024 . On October 16, 2026, the Seoul Central District Court fined her 6 million won, according to Herald Economy . Korean reports list the charges as intimidation and insult.
BH Entertainment's statement, as reported by Soompi, was short:
"The person who left malicious comments about Han Ji Min is the same person who stalked Choi Jung Hoon," — BH Entertainment, Han Ji Min's agency (source: Soompi)
A had already been convicted of stalking Choi Jung Hoon. Here are the key figures across both cases:
- Choi Jung Hoon stalking case: a 5 million won fine and an order to complete a stalking treatment program. The ruling became final in March 2026 .
- Han Ji Min threats case: a 6 million won fine at first instance on October 16, 2026 .
- Combined: 11 million won in fines across the two cases, as tallied by Sports Kyunghyang .
The Han Ji Min verdict is a first-instance ruling. None of the reports reviewed for this article say whether an appeal has been filed. Other Korean outlets, including Star News and My Daily, carried the same confirmation from the agency.
What did the Han Ji Min case involve, and what did the court decide?
The Han Ji Min case covered 19 malicious posts that A uploaded to her social media between September and October 2024. The posts tagged the actress and people she knows . On October 16, 2026, the Seoul Central District Court fined her 6 million won . According to Herald Economy, the posts started after Han and Choi Jung Hoon confirmed their relationship in August 2024.
Korean reports describe a consistent set of demands in the posts. According to Sports Kyunghyang and Mediafine Global, A:
- claimed the couple's relationship was false
- demanded that a breakup be announced publicly
- demanded that Han Ji Min stop using social media
- threatened to disrupt a film Han Ji Min appears in
None of the reports reviewed here say which film the threat referred to.
The ruling and the charges
Judge Lee Ye-rim of Criminal Division 27, a single-judge bench at the Seoul Central District Court, delivered the verdict on October 16, 2026, and set the fine at 6 million won . The charges are translated differently depending on the outlet. Korean outlets, including Herald Economy, give them as 협박 및 모욕, which means intimidation and insult. Soompi's English report calls them "criminal intimidation and defamation." Under Korean law, insult (모욕) and defamation (명예훼손) are separate offences. The Korean-language wording is the more precise description of what the court ruled on.
Several reports also summarise how the court explained the sentence. The court did not just list the offences. It also said the online conduct called for a deterrent.
The court found the posts had seriously damaged Han Ji Min's image and said a warning was needed against using online anonymity to criticise or curse others and spread malicious rumours (Seoul Central District Court, Criminal Division 27, as reported by Mediafine Global and Sports Kyunghyang).
This is a summary of the court's reasoning as the outlets reported it, not a verbatim quote from the written judgment. The reports reviewed here do not publish the full text of the ruling.
How the complaint reached court
The case started with action from Han's agency. According to Nocut News, BH Entertainment hired legal counsel and filed a complaint in November 2024, about a month after the last of the 19 posts . Mediafine Global reports that the complaint was filed with the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul . That puts nearly two years between the complaint and the first-instance verdict. The Choi Jung Hoon stalking case moved through the courts during that time.
What happened in the earlier Choi Jung Hoon stalking case?
A Korean court had already convicted the same woman, "A," of stalking JANNABI vocalist Choi Jung Hoon before the Han Ji Min verdict. It fined her 5 million won and ordered her to complete a stalking treatment program. That ruling became final in March 2026 . When the second case reached its first-instance sentence in October 2026, she had already been punished for targeting Choi. BH Entertainment then confirmed publicly that the two cases involved the same person.
Reports say the stalking happened mostly online. A left hundreds of one-sided secret comments on Choi's personal blog. The messages contained profanity, demands to meet him privately and death threats . According to Nocut News, some of the comments also included personal photos . The comments were secret, so other blog visitors could not see them. Only Choi could read them.
The case also went beyond the screen. Soompi and Herald Economy report that she went to the area around his agency's building . Korean law treats repeated approaches like this differently from one-off online insults.
Herald Economy and Nocut News say the prosecution relied on two laws :
- The Stalking Punishment Act. This law covers repeated, unwanted contact or approaches that cause fear or distress. The blog comments and the visits to the agency area fall under it.
- A special act on sexual crimes. The relevant provision covers obscene messages sent by telecommunications, such as phone, text or online messaging.
Reports differ on how much the public knew while the case was open. They agree on how investigators handled it. According to Sports Kyunghyang, investigators established her identity during the investigation. Temporary protective measures were also put in place for Choi, including a restraining order . Under Korean law, these measures can keep a suspect away from the victim while the case is still pending. They do not depend on a final verdict.
The sentence had two parts. The first was the 5 million won fine. The second was a court order to complete a treatment program for stalking offenders . The sentence became final in March 2026 . At that point the Han Ji Min case was still open. The court there had not yet ruled on the 19 posts aimed at Han.
Put together, A was fined 11 million won across the two cases: 5 million won for stalking Choi and 6 million won for threatening and insulting Han . The Choi case is closed. The Han Ji Min ruling is only a first-instance decision, and none of the reviewed sources say whether an appeal has been filed. The reports also do not say if the two cases were connected during the investigation. The link became public only through BH Entertainment's October 17 statement .
How do the two cases compare side by side?
The two cases involve the same defendant but differ in target, platform and legal basis. The Han Ji Min case was 19 social media posts charged as intimidation and insult, and it drew a 6 million won fine on October 16, 2026 . The Choi Jung Hoon case was a stalking conviction, and it became final in March 2026 .
The table below sets out what each case covered, using reports from Soompi, Herald Economy and Nocut News.
| Item | Han Ji Min case | Choi Jung Hoon case |
|---|---|---|
| Victim | Actress Han Ji Min | JANNABI vocalist Choi Jung Hoon |
| Where and when | The defendant's social media, September to October 2024 | Choi's personal blog, plus visits to the area around his agency's building. The reviewed reports do not give exact dates. |
| Conduct | 19 malicious posts, including demands for a breakup announcement and a threat to disrupt a film she appears in | Hundreds of one-sided secret comments containing profanity, demands to meet and death threats |
| Legal basis | Intimidation and insult (협박 및 모욕) | Stalking Punishment Act, and a sexual-crimes special act covering obscene messages sent by telecommunications |
| Penalty | 6 million won fine | 5 million won fine plus a stalking treatment program |
| Status | First-instance ruling, October 16, 2026, Seoul Central District Court | Final as of March 2026 |
Together the two fines come to 11 million won . Only the Choi case also required treatment. In the Han case, the court said it was sending a warning against using online anonymity to curse others and spread malicious rumors .
The two cases are not equally settled. The Choi conviction is closed. The Han ruling could still change if either side appeals, and none of the reviewed sources say whether an appeal has been filed.
How did Han Ji Min and Choi Jung Hoon become a public couple?
Han Ji Min and Choi Jung Hoon, the vocalist of the band JANNABI, met in 2023 when Han was a guest on KBS2's music talk show "The Seasons – Choi Jung Hoon's Night Park" . They confirmed they were dating in August 2024, and Herald Economy gives the date as August 10, 2024 . The threatening posts that led to the October 2026 fine started after that announcement.
The 2023 episode came before any public news of the relationship. "The Seasons" is KBS2's late-night music show, and each season is hosted by a different musician. Choi Jung Hoon hosted the "Night Park" season, and Han Ji Min came on as his guest. Reports from Soompi and Sports Kyunghyang name that appearance as the point where they first met. The reviewed sources do not say how the relationship developed after the show.
The confirmation in August 2024 matters for the court case timeline. Here is the order of events as reported:
- 2023: Han Ji Min appears on "The Seasons – Choi Jung Hoon's Night Park" .
- August 10, 2024: The couple's relationship is publicly confirmed .
- September–October 2024: A uploads 19 malicious posts aimed at Han Ji Min on social media .
According to Herald Economy, the posts called the relationship false. They demanded that the couple announce a breakup and that Han stop using social media . The reports describe what the posts said, not why A wrote them. The sources do not give any reason beyond the content of the posts, so this account doesn't suggest one either. The timeline shows only that the harassment of Han Ji Min started within weeks of the couple going public.
What does the ruling mean for fans, and how should they respond to online harassment?
The court's main reported message is a warning about anonymity online. When Judge Lee Ye-rim of the Seoul Central District Court fined A 6 million won on October 16, 2026, the court said it needed to warn people against hiding behind online anonymity to criticise or curse others and spread malicious rumours . For fans, this means that comments posted on social media or a blog can lead to criminal charges in Korea. Reports say the court found that the 19 posts aimed at Han Ji Min seriously damaged her image (source: Mediafine Global, 2026-10) .
The way fans talk about the case can either help the people it targeted or add to the harm. These are the basics:
- Do not repost the original posts or comments. Screenshots of the threats keep the harassment circulating, even if you share them to criticise it.
- Do not try to identify A. Every report calls the defendant only "A," a woman in her thirties. Guessing at her name or online accounts can expose someone else to harm, possibly the wrong person.
- Do not speculate about motives. The coverage describes what the posts said. It does not explain why she wrote them.
- Report, don't reply. If you see abusive content aimed at an artist, use the platform's reporting tools and let the agency's legal team handle it. BH Entertainment hired legal counsel and filed its complaint in November 2024 (source: Nocut News, 2026-10) .
For updates, use outlets that have covered the case directly: Soompi in English, Herald Economy in Korean, and Nocut News's English edition. Statements from BH Entertainment are the main source for anything about Han Ji Min. Fan-account summaries often get details wrong, including the dollar conversion of the fine, which differs from source to source.
The next thing to watch is whether anyone appeals. The October 16 decision in the Han Ji Min case is a first-instance ruling, and none of the reviewed sources say whether an appeal has been filed. The Choi Jung Hoon stalking case is closed. That 5 million won fine and the order to complete a stalking treatment programme became final in March 2026 . Together, A has been fined 11 million won across the two cases . The two rulings show that Korean courts are treating online threats and offline stalking of entertainers as criminal offences. Fans can help by sharing verified facts and leaving the identification and punishment of offenders to the courts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are the Han Ji Min and Choi Jung Hoon cases connected?
Yes. On October 17, 2026, Han Ji Min's agency, BH Entertainment, confirmed that the same woman was behind both cases . The agency said, "The person who left malicious comments about Han Ji Min is the same person who stalked Choi Jung Hoon." The link came to light during the trial over the threats against the actress. Choi is the vocalist of the band JANNABI and Han Ji Min's boyfriend (source: Soompi, 2026-10).
How much was the woman fined in total?
She was fined 11 million won across the two cases. On October 16, 2026, the Seoul Central District Court fined her 6 million won for the posts targeting Han Ji Min . Before that, she had been fined 5 million won for stalking Choi Jung Hoon and ordered to complete a stalking treatment program. That ruling became final in March 2026 . The 11 million won total comes from Sports Kyunghyang .
Has the Han Ji Min ruling been appealed?
No source has said so yet. The October 16, 2026 verdict is a first-instance ruling from a single judge in the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 27 . None of the reports reviewed for this article say whether the defendant or the prosecution has appealed. The earlier Choi Jung Hoon stalking ruling is already final (source: Nocut News, 2026-10).
Who is the woman who was fined?
Reports do not name her. She is described only as "A," a woman in her thirties. Prosecutors charged her with uploading 19 malicious posts aimed at Han Ji Min on social media between September and October 2024 . Every outlet covering the case, including Mediafine Global and Korea Daily, leaves her unnamed.
When did Han Ji Min and Choi Jung Hoon confirm their relationship?
They went public in August 2024. Herald Economy gives the date as August 10, 2024 . The couple met in 2023, when Han Ji Min was a guest on KBS2's The Seasons – Choi Jung Hoon's Night Park . Korean reports say the threatening posts started after the relationship was made public (source: Herald Economy, 2026-10).
Enjoyed this article? Subscribe to get new stories by email whenever they're published.
This article was written using information collected and analyzed by NAMANE's in-house K-pop research AI engine. We use AI technology to bring you faster, broader coverage, and in the process some details may occasionally differ from the latest facts. For important information such as dates, venues, and prices, please double-check with official sources.
