Charges fly over Ailee photos leak

The nude photo scandal surrounding singer Ailee took a twist on Tuesday as a U.S.-based Korean pop news site that uploaded the photos stuck to its story that it had taken the images from an online forum.

On Sunday, allkpop posted a set of nude photos of the singer in an article titled “Purported pre-debut nude photos of Ailee leaked.”

In response, Ailee’s agency, YMC Entertainment, released a statement which said, “The photos were from a camera test shoot for a famous underwear company that Ailee had taken when she was living in the U.S.”

The agency said the modeling offer turned out to be a fraud and Ailee reported the case to local police. Afterward, she discussed the incident with her then boyfriend, Daniel Lee, and sent the photos to him as part of their discussions. The agency did not specify when the photos were taken but identified the man as Lee, who is now a reporter for allkpop.

On Tuesday, allkpop posted an article which said, “Although Ailee is a victim, so is Daniel Lee, as false allegations were made by YMC, defaming our employee.”

The U.S. site said a person claiming to be a broker on behalf of the owner of Ailee’s nude pictures sent a sample image “for proof” and tried to sell the photos for $3,500 (3.7 million won) in June. Allkpop said it refused the offer and informed Ailee’s agency about the matter at that time.

YMC said it would take strong measures against the initial circulator for violating the singer’s privacy. 

By Park Han-na  (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)