SOUTH KOREA (TR) – The family of a 25-year-old Japanese influencer and former top-earning hostess residing in Seoul who died earlier this month by suicide during a TikTok livestream says the tragedy was due to relentless cyberbullying.
The influencer, who went by the name “Mina,” passed away on August 5. The Yongsan Police Station in Seoul is currently investigating the cause of death and the circumstances surrounding the incident, which was first reported by South Korean media outlet Yonhap News.
Prior to relocating to South Korea, Mina was a highly popular cabaret club hostess in Japan, reportedly raking in over 100 million yen annually. More recently, she was known online as a devoted “Ni-ki pen”—a hardcore fan of Ni-ki, the 20-year-old sole Japanese member of the popular K-pop boy band ENHYPEN.
Fake apology
Her sudden death has triggered a firestorm of speculation on X. Netizens quickly drew connections between her suicide and a July 30 livestream on the platform Weverse, during which the K-pop idol expressed frustration over concertgoers going to extreme lengths to get his attention.
Following the news of her death, rumors spread that Mina had been viciously targeted and harassed by other fans for her flashy displays of support at concerts.
The online controversy quickly spawned a wave of misinformation. On August 7, a fake apology letter falsely attributed to Ni-ki began circulating on social media. Two days later, an X user maliciously paired a photograph of Mina with an entirely unrelated 2023 video of the idol in an attempt to criticize him, drawing widespread backlash for intentionally manipulating the narrative.
“Critical posts on social media”
On the night of August 11, Mina’s grieving family broke their silence, releasing a statement via her Instagram Stories to condemn the online abuse.
“Our daughter was deeply hurt by critical posts on social media, which caused her to deny her own will to live and bring an end to her life,” the family wrote.
While some netizens have rushed to defend the K-pop star, debate continues to rage online over who bears ultimate responsibility for the malicious slander that drove the young woman to take her own life.
