A member of Team Bunnies, a fan group that raised donations to take legal action against malicious comments targeting NewJeans, has been sent to the Family Court's Juvenile Division for violating the Act on the Collection and Use of Donations. The decision was made considering the person in question is under the age of 18.
According to Chosun Biz on the 28th, the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office determined there were legal violations done by A, an underage member of Team Bunnies, and decided to send them to the Seoul Family Court's Juvenile Division. The prosecutors reportedly transferred this case as a protective case, rather than a criminal case, based on A's age and the seriousness of the action.
A legal expert explained, "It's highly likely this happened because they didn't fully understand the relevant law. Since the individual is a minor, they are mainly covered by the 'Juvenile Act,' and authorities decided this was not a matter for criminal punishment."
The Family Court’s Juvenile Division will review A’s age, the seriousness of the actions, and the possibility for reformation to determine the protective measures. Depending on the outcome, the court may impose counseling, community service, probation, or even dismiss the case entirely if it's deemed minor.
Team Bunnies is a part of the NewJeans fandom, 'Bunnies.' It was formed during the height of conflict between HYBE and ADOR last year to show support for NewJeans.
On October 21 last year, they started collecting donations online, claiming that they would 'take legal action against malicious posts targeting NewJeans.' They quickly raised over 50 million KRW in just 8 hours. However, this immediately led to a legal controversy over the violations of the donation collection law.
The current Donation Act states that anyone raising over 10 million KRW in donations must register with local authorities. Violation of this law can lead up to 3 years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million KRW. A citizen complaint was filed through the National Petition System, and the Seul Metropolitan Government confirmed that the fundraising was not registered in advance.
The fund are currently frozen as authorities are investigating. Depending on the investigation's outcome, any money that hasn't been used will be returned to the people who donated it as required by law, right after the investigation is finished.
Team Bunnies gained a lot of attention during the dispute between HYBE and former ADOR CEO Min Heejin. While their identities weren't officially revealed, they described themselves as "a group of experts from various fields who support NewJeans."
The group expressed support for Hanni's appearance at the National Assembly auditand sent messages and faxes to many politicians demanding the attendance of HYBE officials. They even released information they claimed was confidential company material, like documents comparing ADOR’s NewJeans project and BELIFT LAB’s ILLIT project.
The NewJeans fandom Bunnies later clarified, “Team Bunnies does not represent the opinions of the entire fandom.”
-This is ridiculous...
-Even if it was done by a minor, the adults should take responsibility. Why would anyone want to ruin a kid’s life like this?
-Did they use a minor as a scapegoat??? That is truly something.
-I can't believe it. They're basically saying this minor led the whole thing.
-There’s no way everyone in that team was a minor and no way it was just one person. But they put the minor up front? Wow.
-Weren’t they supposed to be a 'team'?
-A minor?? Didn't they say there were also people from the legal field involved? And yet they used a minor as their representative?
-Why would a minor do all that just to 'protect' a celebrity...?
-Something smells fishyㅎㅎㅎ
-Didn’t they meet with NewJeans’ family and lawyers? Did they really trust a minor to handle all this?
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Unbelievable;; Now that there’s a problem, they’re using the minor as a shield.
-Team Bunnies acted like an agency, putting out official statements and coordinating things with NewJeans... And now you're saying the person behind that is a minor? Does that make any sense?
-There’s more than one shady thing going on here.
-Did they use the minor’s bank account for the fundraising?
-NewJeans, please save them...
