IU takes legal fight to U.S. court to unmask alleged defamer behind malicious posts

IU is continuing her uncompromising legal battle against individuals responsible for spreading false information and posting malicious online content. In a bid to advance an ongoing defamation lawsuit in South Korea, she has turned to a U.S. federal court to obtain subscriber information from the operator of a global social media platform.

According to a report by Dispatch on July 20, IU filed an application on July 15 with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, seeking discovery from Meta, the parent company of Threads. The request is intended to identify the defendant and secure evidence for a civil defamation lawsuit currently underway in South Korea.

The filing relies on 28 U.S.C. § 1782, a federal statute that allows U.S. courts to order individuals or companies within their jurisdiction to provide evidence for use in foreign legal proceedings. The law has increasingly been used by South Korean celebrities seeking to identify anonymous users behind defamatory posts on global platforms whose servers are located overseas.

According to the court filing, IU's legal team identified a Threads account under the username "@7hy*jin" (referred to as Person A) as the primary target of the request. They alleged that the account posted and distributed 52 malicious posts containing false information over seven months from March through October 2025, causing serious damage to IU's reputation and public image.

IU's legal representatives said they have been unable to determine the individual's identity, making it difficult to proceed with legal action in South Korea. They have therefore asked the U.S. court to order Meta to disclose all subscriber information associated with the account, including the user's real name, address, phone number, email address, and IP logs.

The filing categorized the alleged defamatory content into six major types to demonstrate the severity of the posts:

First, the account repeatedly claimed that IU had plagiarized other artists' music. IU's legal team noted that these allegations had already been ruled defamatory by a South Korean court in 2024, resulting in a 30 million KRW (approximately 22,000 USD) damages award against the original poster, making the claims demonstrably false.

Second, the account allegedly spread fabricated claims portraying IU as being affiliated with China. Among the rumors were assertions that charities she donated to and a cosmetics brand she endorsed were Chinese companies, as well as claims that she was an ethnic Chinese person who spoke fluent Cantonese.

Third, the account allegedly attempted to diminish IU's global success by claiming that she had virtually no international popularity and that her drama 'When Life Gives You Tangerines' had performed poorly overseas. IU's legal team submitted international streaming data and global performance metrics to refute those claims.

One of the most serious allegations involved deceased celebrities. According to the filing, the account repeatedly shared videos claiming to expose the "serious exploitation of deceased celebrities by Female Singer B," while prominently featuring the late Sulli, Jonghyun, and Gu Hara. IU's legal team argued that the account maliciously exploited the tragic deaths of the three artists in an attempt to damage IU's reputation.

The filing also addressed accusations that IU's agency manipulated the media and public opinion. The account allegedly claimed, "I've never seen an entertainer control the media as completely as the Chinese Communist Party. Not even politicians do this."

Finally, IU's legal team highlighted posts that forced baseless connections between her song lyrics and major national tragedies. The account allegedly claimed that "Strawberry Moon" alluded to the Itaewon crowd crush tragedy, while "Ah puh" was supposedly created to mock the Sewol ferry disaster. IU's representatives described these claims as malicious fabrications with no factual basis whatsoever.

IU and her agency have consistently maintained a zero-tolerance policy toward malicious commenters and individuals who spread false information, pledging to pursue legal accountability to the fullest extent.

As of February, IU's legal team revealed that it had simultaneously filed criminal complaints and civil lawsuits against 96 individuals accused of posting malicious comments. Those efforts have already produced legal results. In May, one defendant who had repeatedly posted insulting content about IU received a sentence of four months in prison, suspended for one year, after losing an appeal.