According to Ten Asia’s investigation on October 23, the assailant who assaulted Jessi’s fan is reportedly an acquaintance of rapper and producer Koala, who is a close friend of Jessi. While she might not have known his identity and contact information at the time of the incident, sources claim that Jessi was aware of these details before the police investigation began, as the situation escalated.
An entertainment industry insider who has connections with to Jessi told Ten Asia, “Koala was the one who knew the assailant’s identity and contact information, and Jessi also learned this through Koala,” adding, “While it might be true that she didn’t know about the assailant when she attended the drinking gathering through her friendship with Koala, she definitely had information about the assailant when the victim fan made assault claims.”
This has led to criticism that Jessi could have taken more proactive measures, such as informing the victim fan about the assailant’s identity and providing statements to the police, but instead chose to avoid involvement.
Furthermore, it has become problematic that Jessi was spotted drinking at a nearby establishment after briefly leaving the scene of the assault, suggesting she didn’t take the incident seriously enough.
Jessi recently faced controversy for allegedly ignoring a fan assault. According to police reports, in the early hours of September 29, a minor fan was assaulted by a male member of Jessi’s group when requesting a photo with the singer in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam-gu.
Jessi, who was standing right there at the scene, was seen making gestures to stop the fight before leaving the scene. Moreover, when police arrived following the victim’s report and questioned Jessi and her group about the assailant’s whereabouts, they reportedly claimed they didn’t know.
Regarding this incident, Jessi’s side drew a line by stating that the assailant was “Chinese” and “completely unrelated to her – instead, he’s a friend of a producer who is close to Jessi.” Later, during the police investigation, while Jessi stated, “I hope they find the person who hit (the fan) quickly and that they get punished,” when reporters asked if it was true that she met the assailant for the first time on the day of the incident, she responded, “Yes, I met him for the first time.”