Virtual K-POP Idols Moving Toward Legal Protection and Technological Expansion

Virtual K-POP idols are strengthening their position within the entertainment industry by pursuing both legal protection and technological advancements. A South Korean court ordered a social media user to pay 500,000 won (approximately $360) in damages for defamation against the virtual idol group PLAVE. The ruling, issued in May, is one of the first legal cases involving virtual K-POP idols and served as a precedent for establishing their legal status. PLAVE is a group composed of five virtual members created using motion capture technology, featuring the voices and movements of real anonymous performers. Debuted in 2023, PLAVE has become a successful virtual star in the K-POP industry, boasting over 1 million YouTube subscribers. The group was nominated for Best Vocal Performance and Song of the Year at the 2024 MAMA Awards and won major awards at this year’s Seoul Music Awards. PLAVE’s agency, BLAST, filed a civil lawsuit last July against a social media user who defamed the group through a series of posts containing vulgar language. The defendant claimed the comments were directed at fictional characters rather than real people. However, the court ruled that if a widely recognized avatar represents a real person, attacks on the avatar also affect that real person. BLAST demanded 6.5 million won in compensation per of the five voice actors, but the court awarded only 100,000 won per person after considering the severity of the harm and the circumstances. BLAST has appealed the decision, stating it established an important precedent for defamation involving virtual avatars. Meanwhile, AI entertainment company Galaxy Corporation (the label of G-Dragon) held its first global open audition last week at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles to recruit new members for a virtual K-POP group. 100 participants from around the world, selected through an online preliminary review, advanced to the second round. Unlike other virtual artists such as PLAVE and MAVE, this is the first time a new group for Galaxy will be chosen through an open audition. Participants use motion capture technology to apply their movements and voices to virtual avatars and perform on stage. The real faces of the selected performers were covered with umbrellas as they left the filming location, maintaining a completely blind audition format. GK, Galaxy’s head of music IP (Song Kyu-hyuk), explained the background behind planning the virtual group. He observed that K-POP idols struggle to exceed standard seven-year contracts and typically reach their peak between adolescence and adulthood. Realizing that technological advancements allow idols to exist forever through AI entertainment, he said they pursued the possibility of permanent artists who “can transcend time limits and continuously inspire K-POP fans and music lovers worldwide.” Advocates for virtual K-POP idols argue that such avatars can alleviate the pressure of intense surveillance and criticism surrounding the personal lives of human idols. The cases of PLAVE and Galaxy demonstrate that virtual idols are emerging as an independent entertainment genre within the framework of technology and legal systems.