Starship Entertainment Apologizes for Deepfake Incident Involving IVE's An Yujin

Starship Entertainment has issued an apology after a deepfake image of IVE member An Yujin was shared on their official social media. On January 15, the company acknowledged the incident, which occurred on January 9 due to a serious error by an employee managing their Chinese social media account. They expressed sincere regret to An Yujin and her fans, stating, "We bow our heads in apology for the significant emotional distress caused."

The company confirmed that the issue stemmed from mismanagement and stated that the employee responsible has faced severe disciplinary action and has been removed from related duties. Starship committed to strengthening their internal management systems to prevent such incidents in the future.

They also conveyed their heartfelt apologies to An Yujin, promising to do their utmost to help her recover from the damage caused. The company is actively pursuing legal action against the spread of false information and defamation related to their artists, ensuring that no further harm occurs.

Starship further expressed their deep apologies for the disappointment and concern felt by fans, emphasizing that they take the lessons learned from this incident seriously and are dedicated to becoming a more mature company to regain trust.

Previously, on January 9, a post featuring a manipulated image of An Yujin was shared on IVE's Chinese Weibo account. Following backlash from fans both domestically and internationally, Starship clarified that the incident arose during the process of reporting malicious content by their employee.

Meanwhile, IVE, which includes An Yujin, recently released a pre-release track titled 'REBEL HEART' on January 13 and is set to make a comeback with their third mini-album 'IVE EMPATHY' on February 3.