Woman indicted for sexually insulting graffiti targeting singer BoA

A woman in her late 30s has been indicted for scrawling sexually insulting graffiti targeting singer BoA, whose legal name is Kwon Bo-ah, at multiple locations across Seoul.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Criminal Division 7, led by chief prosecutor Jo Yun-cheol, indicted the suspect, identified by her surname Jo, 38, without detention on Monday on charges of insult and property damage.

Jo is accused of using a permanent marker to write sexually derogatory messages about BoA on bus stop signs and electronic display boards in Gangnam, Gangdong and Gwangjin-gu on eight separate occasions last June, publicly insulting the singer and impairing the function of the displays.

Jo has a prior record of fines for property damage and similar offenses, having repeatedly scrawled insulting graffiti targeting other celebrities as well.

At the time, BoA's fans shared photos of the graffiti and their locations on online communities and reported the incidents to police, the relevant district offices and BoA's then-agency SM Entertainment. Some fans also cleaned up the graffiti themselves.

SM Entertainment had filed a complaint with the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul last June, stating that BoA had been harmed by the graffiti. After police forwarded the case, prosecutors indicted Jo, citing the high visibility of the locations, the repeated and malicious nature of the graffiti, the severity of the harm caused, and a petition from BoA's side calling for strict punishment.