SM Entertainment has officially announced that there will be strict legal action against malicious rumors related to their artists.

On November 2 KST, SM Entertainment posted a notice on their website with the title "Hello, this is SM Entertainment." On the notice, the company stated that they have commissioned more than ten law firms, including the nation's top firms, and plan to take strong civil and criminal legal measures against the malicious comments and rumors.

They continued to state that malicious rumors, malicious postings/comments, and defamation posts have been indiscriminately posted and circulated on online communities, social media outlets, and portal sites in connection with their artists. The company stated that they have requested stronger legal action to be taken against them.

SM added, "With a huge amount of malicious postings and groundless rumors still being released, we are checking for these illegal activities on domestic and overseas platforms based on our own monitoring and fans' reports. We are still taking legal action on a number of issues. There already have been multiple convictions on these crimes as we continue to take legal actions."

Previously, SM Entertainment recently took legal action against malicious comments about Karina (Yoo Jimin), a member of the new girl group aespa.

Recently, SM artists heated up the Internet due to negative issues. Red Velvet's Irene officially apologized for the controversy over her abusing her powers, while EXO's Chanyeol was involved in a controversy when an alleged ex-girlfriend making a post online claiming he had a promiscuous private life. SM Entertainment has not made an official statement over Chanyeol's controversy yet.

However, SM Entertainment warned the malicious commenters and anyone who spreads false rumors about their artists.

Here is their full statement:

"This is SM Entertainment, 

With the recent illegal activities against our artists, we have commissioned more than ten law firms, including the nation's top firms and lawyers who specialize in this field. We plan to take strong civil/criminal legal actions against such illegal actions.

Recently, malicious rumors, malicious postings/ comments, and defaming posts have been indiscriminately posted and are circulating on online communities, social networking sites, and portal sites, prompting stronger legal action.

We inform everyone that spreading such rumors is clearly an illegal act and subject to strong legal action. Creating malicious rumors by fabricating groundless information and publishing articles that constitute defamations based on unconfirmed facts will be subject to legal action. Please be careful not to get involved in such actions.

In addition, thousands of reports are being received daily in our tip-off email account (protect@smtown.com), which was opened in December 2017. We are checking each email and have confirmed the information. We have been filing complaints after confirming the illegal activities and consulting with our artists.

With a steady stream of malicious postings and groundless rumors being posted online, we are still taking legal action against a number of cases.  We are confirming the illegal activities on domestic and overseas platforms and portal sites based on our own monitoring and fans' reports. 

We will continue to support and do our best to protect our artists' personal safety and rights. We will also help them grow, develop, and become better artists.

We would also like to reiterate that we will continue to take strong action, including criminal legal action against these various illegal activities.

Thank you."