How Dispatch SAVED Kim Seon Ho's Career
BREAKING NEWS: DISPATCH reveals…
Does it spark your interest and send shivers down your spine? Then you are a certified K-pop fan. This headline is one of the biggest nightmares of any Korean celebrity or fan.
What is DISPATCH, by the way? Dispatch is basically a media outlet that covers news, especially about the entertainment industry. But, Dispatch is not only about the entertainment industry. Dispatch will pay close attention to any news item that sounds scandalous. Any actor, idol, sports star, or TV personality involved issue, any chaebol, politician, or public figure involved issue, or any controversial issue in the society, would make it to the Dispatch front page. So, we can rather say Dispatch is the largest media outlet in South Korea for verified gossip. They are indeed the devil’s advocate because what they report has solid grounds.
Why didn't anyone sue Dispatch, is a question. In 2018, both Korean and international fans signed a Blue House petition that requested the shutting down of Dispatch. The petition gained exactly 211,296 signatures, so the Blue House had to respond. Here’s what Blue House had to say.
"First, the government’s power to close down any media outlet is very limited and, actually, almost impossible because ‘Freedom of Speech’ is a very important right and the constitution protects it."
The statement further clarified, "The victim can request corrections on reports or rebuttal reports for damage control through the Press Arbitration Commission. The court also said that if the public thinks that the media report is a violation of human rights, then it (the media report) can be considered an invasion of privacy."
So basically, what Blue House said was that the law cannot stop Dispatch from revealing people’s public lives. If you have any issue with what Dispatch publishes, then you can sue them for invasion of privacy.
Did this ever happen? Did anyone ever sue Dispatch? Yes, there are just two instances where Dispatch was sued. The boy band JYJ sued DISPACTH in 2012 for defamation and invasion of privacy. The news outlet first released an audio file in which the members verbally and physically abused fans. It followed another audio file where the members assaulted their sasaeng fans. Following the incident, C-Jes Entertainment officially announced its plan to sue Dispatch. Their claim was, "The file was illegally recorded. Releasing the file without confirming it with the party involved is considered defamation and an invasion of privacy." That was it, and we never heard of the judgment, probably because JYJ lost the case.
But there is one instance where Dispatch screwed up. One of the largest conglomerates of South Korea, the Vice Chairman of Shinsegae Group, Chung Yong-jin sued Dispatch over privacy invasion. And he won. The court ordered Dispatch to remove its article and pay compensation of 15 million won or $13,000. Let’s scoop up a little of this story.
Who is Chung Yong-jin? He is the grandson of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul. Shinsegae Group is a South Korean department store franchise, along with several other businesses. Currently, it is the largest retailer in South Korea. Chung Yong-jin divorced his first wife, Go Hyun-jung in 2003. After nearly a decade, he started dating Han Ji-hee, a flutist and an associate professor. Everything was going well, and the two families met to finalize the relationship. Dispatch made the family union a big deal and reported it as, "Jung Yong-jin and Han Ji-hee caught up with the top secret meeting of the Shinsegae Royal Family". Dispatch barked up the wrong tree this time.
Both Korean celebrities and fans are kind of afraid of January first. This is the big day that Dispatch usually drops a bomb. Since 2013, Dispatch has revealed celebrity couples every New Year's except for 2017 and 2020. It started with the power couple, Rain and Kim Tae-hee. They admitted the relationship and tied the knot in 2017. Today, they are the parents of two pretty girls. In 2014, it was Lee Seung-gi and Yoona. Again, two of the most famous celebrities. Sadly, this relationship didn’t last long. In 2015, it was Lee Jung-jae and Lim Se-ryung, a chaebol and the ex-wife of the Samsung Vice-chairman. They admitted to their relationship and believed it to be going strong until today.
In 2016, it was second-generation K-pop star Junsu and EXID’s Hani. This too didn’t last long though. GD dating After School's Lee Ju-yeon, was 2018’s revelation. However, many speculated that they were a couple even before. But neither party responded to the article. 2019 dawned with Jenaki's dating post. Both were top K-pop idols back in the day and even today. Both accepted the relationship to end it after a month. 2020 was a silent year, and the 2021 reveal was fantastic since we all wanted Captain Ri and Yoon Se-Ri to end up together. Even though Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin’s agencies were continuously denying dating rumors, this time they confirmed it to be true. They tied the knot on March 31st, 2022, and the couple is expecting their first baby. In 2022, there was nothing much as expected.
It is not only on January first that the Dispatch likes to stir still waters. Here are some of the stories they broke that shook the Korean entertainment world. The dating news of actor Jung Kyung-ho and SNSD member Sooyoung was revealed in 2013, and the couple is still going strong.
The Taeyeon and Baekhyun dating story came out in June, 2014. Fans from both ends didn’t respond positively to it, and I don’t know why. This is the first couple SM Entertainment confirmed. The two apologized to the public for dating, as if they had committed a crime. SM Entertainment confirmed the couple’s break-up on their official website in 2015. However, if you dig into this relationship further, things didn’t match up at all, and we’ll talk about it another day. Before Jenkai, Kai made headlines with Krystal back in 2016. But that didn’t last long and we had Jenkai. Dispatch was the first to reveal some of the sweetest couples in the Korean celebrity world. We have Park Shin Hye and Choi Tae Joon, Ryu Jun-yeol and Hyeri, Kim Woo Bin and Shin Min Ah, Taeyang (Big Bang) and Min Hyo Rin, who are either happily married or going strong.
However, revealing dating news is not Dispatch's only concern. You may wonder whether Dispatch hasn’t done anything good at all. There were instances when Dispatch stepped in to save the celebrities. Remember how Kim Seon-ho was ruined after the success of Home Town cha-cha-cha? Dispatch didn't give up on Kim Seon-ho when he accepted all the allegations without any argument. They found evidence, contacted people from both parties, and then released an in-depth report with solid evidence that proved the true nature of Choi Young-ah, Kim Seon-ho’s ex-girlfriend. Dispatch literally saved Kim Seon Ho’s career.
Then, in 2020, the whole world of K-pop started firing former AOA leader Jimin. Group member Mina took to Instagram to accuse Jimin of bullying her for years. Jimin responded to all these allegations with one word: "fiction". However, this ended Jimin’s career and that of the group AOA. Later, dispatch revealed the truth behind the whole incident and the roles were reversed. The person who was painted as the devil was not actually the devil, but the other was. Dispatch found chat histories, interviewed staff, and everything revealed that Mina was the problem maker. Even a total outsider who worked with the group confirmed it. After a three-year hiatus, Jimin came back to the industry. This return was possible only because Dispatch stepped in to investigate further.
Dispatch is a media outlet that makes money by selling information, particularly about celebrities’ private lives. But sometimes they do the right thing as well. The viewers' reactions to the Dispatch revelations make it a hot issue. If viewers and followers are supportive of celebrities' personal choices, the Dispatch exposes will not cause uproar. Whatever it is, DISPATCH reveals, it is the public opinion that makes it scandalous or not.