Over 50,000 sign petition against entertainment YouTubers following Kim Sae-ron's death

Actor Kim Sae-ron's portrait is displayed during her funeral service at Seoul Asan Hospital's funeral home in Songpa-gu, southern Seoul, Wednesday. (Yonhap)

Over 50,000 South Koreans as of Friday have signed an online petition calling for regulations on local entertainment reporters who run YouTube channels focused on celebrities' private lives.

The petition, posted on the National Assembly's petition page on Feb. 24, called on the parliament to introduce regulatory measures against malicious videos uploaded by the YouTubers-turned-reporters. Such accounts have been criticized for causing emotional distress to the late actor Kim Sae-ron.

The unnamed petitioner claimed that numerous entertainment reporters covered Kim at a "near-stalking level," and the videos on their YouTube channels, which raised groundless allegations against the young actor, continuously harassed her.

"After her drunk driving incident, Kim kept to herself to reflect on her wrongdoings. But her private life was dug up without her consent through many entertainment reporters' YouTube channels," the petitioner said,

"Lawmakers must come up with measures to define basic qualifications for YouTubers and take steps to make regulations regarding the videos they broadcast."

Kim, best known for her role in the 2010 Korean film "The Man from Nowhere," was found dead at her home in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, on Feb.16. She was 24.

Her career was significantly impacted by a DUI incident in May 2022, after she crashed her vehicle into a roadside electrical transformer in southern Seoul.

Kim's father earlier blamed reporter-turned-YouTuber Lee Jin-ho and other so-called "cyber wreckers" for causing his daughter's tragic death, while considering legal action against them, according to news reports.

The petition has gained 50,128 signatures as of 10:30 a.m. and is set to be deliberated by a National Assembly committee. Petitions with 50,000 or more signatures are required to be officially reviewed. After the deliberation, a decision on whether to bring it to the plenary session will be discussed within 90 days.