“Why would I hit her?”... Seo In-young on the “IU assault rumor”; Baek Ji-young: “Maybe you hit her because you weren’t close”

[Financial News] Singer Seo In-young again protested her innocence over the long-running rumor that she assaulted her junior singer IU, which has followed her for more than 10 years, saying, “Why on earth would I hit her?”
On the 7th, a video was released on Seo In-young’s official YouTube channel “Seo In-young’s Gaegwacheonseon,” showing her meeting senior singer Baek Ji-young and reminiscing about their past careers in the music industry.
In the video, Baek Ji-young said, “You had a tough persona, and I did too, but if you think about it, we never bullied our juniors.” Seo In-young then brought up the IU assault rumor that once set the internet abuzz.
Seo In-young said, “There was a rumor that I took IU to the bathroom and beat her up,” adding, “Why on earth would I hit her? We weren’t even acquainted.”
When Seo In-young stressed how unfair the accusation was, Baek Ji-young jokingly retorted, “Maybe you hit her because you weren’t close,” then lightened the mood, saying, “Now I understand how that rumor started. It’s funny hearing it now.”
The rumor began to spread widely around 2011 through online communities and so-called stock-market rumor sheets about the entertainment industry. IU, who appeared on the MBC variety show “Radio Star” at the time, made it clear that the claim was baseless, saying, “It was just a misunderstanding caused by my being very shy and not smiling much when greeting senior artists. Nothing like that happened at all.”
Seo In-young has also repeatedly and emphatically denied the rumor whenever she appeared on major shows, including MBC’s “Knee-Drop Guru” in 2013, IHQ’s “Unnie Picks Up the Tab!” in 2021, and Mnet’s “TMI SHOW” in 2022. “I swear, I never dragged her into a bathroom, and we barely even spoke back then,” she said. “If I wanted to hit her, I would have done it in the waiting room. Why would I go to the bathroom?”
Despite clear denials from both sides, the rumor—which combines a sensational narrative with the TV persona of a “tough older sister”—continues to be discussed online, even now, more than a decade later.
A figure in the popular culture industry noted, “When an entertainer’s strong persona or one-dimensional TV image becomes linked to baseless rumors, the stigma can leave lasting pain, even if those involved explain themselves repeatedly.” The figure added, “Online, there needs to be self-correction in response to the indiscriminate spread of fake news targeting entertainers and baseless speculation.”
[email protected] Moon Young-jin Reporter