SM apologizes for SHINee manager fan assault

SM Entertainment apologized Wednesday after a video showing boy band SHINee's manager assaulting a fan belatedly surfaced on the Internet.

The clip, about 15 seconds long, showed SHINee's manager hitting the back of a girl's head from behind.

"We deeply apologize for becoming involved in such a disgraceful act," an official at SM told Asia Economic Daily over the phone, explaining the video seemed to have been shot last August while the group was on the move to go to their next appointment.

"Regardless of the cause of the incident, attacking a fan is an undeniable wrongdoing," the official added, repeatedly apologizing for the incident.

SHINee's manager is the second person to recently come under heat for assaulting a fan -- just three days earlier, a clip of CNBLUE's manager striking a girl was also released on the web.

SHINee, composed of members Jonghyun, Onew, Key, Minho and Taemin, has been one of the most popular boy bands since their debut in 2008.

Reporter : Park Kun-ouc kun1112@asiae.co.kr
Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@asiae.co.kr