China's 'Food Waste Ban Law' Fallout... BTS and EXO Fan Accounts Suspended for 30 Days

BTS released their new digital single "Butter" simultaneously worldwide on the 21st. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] Following China's enforcement of the "Food Waste Prohibition Law" in April this year, which targeted online video content creators' "mukbang" broadcasts, the country has recently begun cracking down on the "idol fan culture" on platforms. As a result, it has been reported that numerous fan accounts of Korean groups, including BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan), have become targets of these sanctions.

On the 21st, Chinese social networking service (SNS) platform Weibo announced that it had deleted related posts and suspended posting privileges for 30 days for 10 accounts that "irrationally supported idols." Weibo stated, "In accordance with the requirements of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), we are fulfilling our responsibilities to create a healthy and clean fan club ecosystem," adding that they are conducting a "Weibo Fan Club Ecosystem Health Special Campaign."

Among the accounts sanctioned by Weibo, three included "BTS" in their names, and eight accounts were reported to have numerous posts related to BTS. These accounts mainly posted content such as BTS's performances or activity scenes and shared links to popularity polls. The remaining two accounts had many posts related to another Korean idol group, EXO. All 10 accounts had a significant amount of content related to Korean idols.

Weibo explained that it is focusing its investigations on irrational fan support, fundraising activities violating regulations, fake news from malicious marketing accounts, and anti-fans who personally attack celebrities. However, it did not specifically mention what kind of "irrational support" the Korean idol group fan accounts engaged in or the reasons behind the focused sanctions.

According to the Chinese state-run media Global Times, the CAC launched a campaign earlier this month to crack down on irrational fan behavior and the resulting chaos in the entertainment industry.

This campaign began after a controversy arose when it was revealed that passionate fans of the Chinese idol training reality show "Youth Uni3" discarded over 270,000 milk cartons to vote for their favorite idol trainees.

People are gathered sitting together, unwrapping the packaging of a milk product collaborated with 'Cheongchun Uni3' by a Chinese dairy company.
[Photo by Weibo capture]

"Youth Uni3," planned by the video platform iQIYI, featured over a hundred participants competing to select nine final winners who would debut as a limited-time idol group. The final winner selection voting method differed from the traditional phone or text message voting.

By collaborating with a Chinese milk company, "Youth Uni3" allowed fans to vote for their preferred participants by scanning QR codes printed on milk carton lids. However, some fans went to extremes by purchasing large quantities of milk, enlisting elderly people to collect only the QR code lids, and discarding the milk itself, which sparked heavy criticism.

Meanwhile, China also enforced the "Food Waste Prevention Law" on the 30th of last month, strictly punishing food waste and targeting "mukbang" broadcasts. According to the law, if media outlets or online video service creators produce, distribute, or promote broadcasts or programs that waste food through excessive drinking or eating, authorities can issue correction orders and warnings.

Furthermore, if food waste is deemed severe or uncorrected, fines ranging from 10,000 yuan (approximately 1.71 million KRW) to 100,000 yuan (approximately 17.13 million KRW) can be imposed. Additionally, legal responsibility can be held against those in charge through correction orders and business suspensions.

Mukbang had gained great popularity in China, but since President Xi Jinping instructed to "firmly prevent food waste" amid the COVID-19 situation and food crisis awareness in August last year, moves to regulate binge eating have continued.

Some netizens have expressed concerns over the lack of clear detailed regulations regarding the definition of "food waste" and the law enforcement procedures.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.