The first court hearing for a Japanese woman accused of forcibly kissing BTS member Jin during a fan event has been postponed after she failed to appear in court.
More than two years after the incident, authorities had finally brought the case to trial following an Interpol-assisted investigation and the defendant’s voluntary return to South Korea. However, the proceedings were delayed from the outset due to her absence.
On July 14, Chief Judge Lee Ji Min of the Seoul Eastern District Court’s Criminal Division 9 was scheduled to hear the case against the woman, identified only as Ms. A, who faces a charge of forcible molestation. The hearing was unable to proceed after she did not appear in court.
“The defendant submitted a written statement by mail, but its purpose is unclear,” the court said, announcing that the hearing had been rescheduled for 11:00 AM on July 16.
The incident occurred in June 2024 during Jin’s military discharge celebration at Jamsil Indoor Stadium in Seoul. Around 1,000 fans attended the special “hug event,” where participants were allowed to embrace the BTS member one by one briefly.
According to prosecutors, when it was her turn, Ms. A allegedly wrapped her arms around Jin’s neck and kissed him on the cheek without his consent.
Videos of the encounter quickly spread across social media, showing Jin appearing visibly surprised by the unexpected kiss. The footage sparked widespread backlash, with many fans describing the incident as sexual harassment. A South Korean fan later filed a criminal complaint through the country’s online public petition system, prompting a police investigation.
The investigation stalled after Ms. A returned to Japan immediately following the event. Although South Korean police identified her with assistance from Interpol, they were initially unable to question her because she was living overseas, leading investigators to temporarily suspend the case in March 2025.
The case resumed after Ms. A voluntarily returned to South Korea and appeared for questioning. Prosecutors later indicted her without detention in November 2025.
While cases involving foreign defendants often take months to reach a first hearing due to international notification procedures, this trial has attracted significant attention from both K-pop fans and the public, as it marks the first court proceedings in a case that has remained in the spotlight for more than two years.
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