aespa Members Escorted By Police After Death Threat Against Winter, SM Entertainment Confirms

On August 8th, aespa was spotted at the Incheon International Airport heading to the 2023 'Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival' in Los Angeles, USA. Korean media outlets and fans who were present at the site pointed out the dozens of police personnel deployed all over the airport, as well as police officers escorting aespa to the departure hall until they successfully left the country.



On the same day, SM Entertainment confirmed that the police escort was due to the personal threats against aespa's Winter. The agency said, "A post threatening Winter's safety was published on an online community yesterday. As soon as we confirmed this, we filed a complaint with the police station against the publisher of the post and asked for prompt cooperation in the investigation,"

"We strengthened our security force and left the country safely with the cooperation of security personnel and airport police today," the agency added. "The police also recently received several reports and visited our company's office yesterday and today to check the security and safety status. We will continue to do our best to protect the safety of our artists."

According to Dispatch, earlier, an anonymous article threatening Winter with a weapon was posted on an online community. The post has since been deleted, but netizens reported it to the authorities.

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