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The star of K-pop Sulli committed suicide on October 14th. AFP / Yonhap

Two major sites have just announced the closure of comments in their pages related to the news of entertainment. This decision comes a few days after the suicide of the star of K-pop Sulli, a young singer who had been the victim of an intense cyber-harassment campaign.

From our correspondent in Seoul,

On Friday, October 25, Daum, South Korea's second portal, and Kakao, the country's leading mobile messenger, announced that they would turn off all online comments in the entertainment section of their sites.

They explained that " the amount of insults " that surfers engage in on these news pages " has reached a level that has become harmful to public debate ."

Without explicitly mentioning the tragedy, they recognize that this decision is linked to the death of Sulli , a young K-pop star of 25 years, who ended her life on October 14 and who had suffered, for several years , a campaign of insults of a rare violence on the social networks.

Cyberharcelée

Sulli, whose real name is Choi Jin-ri, was criticized for having openly posted his affair with a rapper, for showing on Instagram photos of her, very natural, in her daily life, or for showing herself in favor. the legalization of abortion ...

Sulli provoked misogynistic reactions because she refused to conform to the sexy, reserved and unobtrusive image that is expected of women in the Korean entertainment industry. The torrent of insults that struck her shows how much society in South Korea remains conservative.

While this intense cyber-harassment is unlikely to be the only reason behind her tragic decision - the young star was suffering from depression - her demise raises a heated debate on the issue of hate comments online.

Growing verbal violence

Many even call for legislative intervention. Sulli fans are convinced that this campaign of insults was the cause of his depression. Some even speak of " death by social networks » .

Others require an end to the anonymity of comments; most Korean websites allow you to leave anonymous messages. Legislation on the subject has been discussed in Parliament for years. And a petition demands " Choi Jin-ri " legislation, which would put an end to this anonymity.

►Also read: South Korean film sparked a wave of misogynist and anti-feminist comments

But it is not sure that such a law suffices. There is increasing verbal violence in Korea on networks, particularly against feminists. These misogynistic insults are fueled by extremist and provocative sites, the most famous of which is called " Ilbe ".

And in general, cyber-harassment is devastating , not only among the stars, but also in schools, among the younger generations. The roots of this cyber-violence are deep and multiple and disabling online comments will not solve the problem.