The news that the YouTube channel of the K-Pop Boy Group, A.C.E, had been hacked came out on 11th April 2022. A.C.E is a five-membered group with members – Jun, Donghun, Wow, Kim Byeongkwan, and Chan. A.C.E fans were already sad enough owing to the departure of the members for their mandatory military service. Two of the group members Wow and Donghun enlisted in September 2021, while Jun got enlisted in early February this year. As if the news of another member’s enlistment, Kim Byeongkwan’s, wasn’t enough, the hacking incident had to take place leaving the fans in a state of confusion.
The five-membered K-Pop boy group debuted in the year 2017 with the song ‘CACTUS’. They caught the attention for all the wrong reasons of a lot of people as the boys danced in hot pants for their promotions. People didn’t take them seriously until the group members participated in the TV Program ‘The Unit’. There, it was revealed that wearing hot pants was supposed to be a publicity stunt, to give the group a good kick-start by grabbing attention. There were comments under their performance videos saying that had it not been for the hot pants that the group members wore, people would’ve noticed the talent and charm of the group.
A.C.E YouTube Hacked: Their Agency Releases Statement
A.C.E stands for ‘Adventure Calling Emotions’. The members of this K-pop boy group used to busk on the streets of South Korea before their debut, making dance covers of the songs of popular groups like ‘BTS’, ‘Blackpink’, and ‘EXO’. This shows that the members of the group come from humble beginnings. The group has been slowly but steadily gaining more and more recognition in the K-Pop industry with their hard work. This unfortunate event of their YouTube channel being hacked has put them and their fans at an inconvenience.
What the Fans Noticed
On 10th April, the YouTube handle of the group was seized by hackers. The hackers deleted several videos of A.C.E and uploaded their videos which were later deleted. According to the fans who had been keeping an eye on the channel when the hackers were active, content related to ‘cryptocurrency’ and ‘Elon Musk’ were uploaded by the hackers.
A.C.E Company Statement
A.C.E ‘s parent company BEAT Interactive released a statement regarding the situation they were facing. They said that after the hackers had hacked the group’s YouTube channel, all the login tools were changed including the secondary email address, recovery phone number, and two-step verification backup code. They went on to inform the fans that the hackers had uploaded unconfirmed videos onto the channel and the account was later deleted. They mentioned that they’ve made inquiries regarding the matter at hand to YouTube and Google. They will let the public know about what they acquired through the inquiry and apologised to the fans of A.C.E for the inconvenience caused.
‘A.C.E’ Before Debut
Did you know that Jun was a trainee under Jellyfish Entertainment alongside ‘VIXX’ before he transferred to the company CJ E&M? He even appeared on Mnet’s show ‘I Can See Your Voice’ as a look-a-like of ‘Kangta’. Donghun competed on Superstar K5 before becoming a trainee under the CJ E&M company and later participated in ‘I Can See Your Voice’, just like Jun did. He ended up winning in the episode and was greatly praised by GOT7’s JB.
Now let’s talk about Wow. He once used to train under YG Entertainment alongside the members of ‘WINNER’ before he shifted companies and came under CJ E&M. This is when the three members of the group- Jun, Donghun, and Wow- met each other. Kim Byeongkwan was also a JYP trainee before coming to CJ E&M.
A Little Bit More about ‘A.C.E’
A.C.E is probably one of the few K-Pop Idols who have been vocal about their support for the LGBTQ+ community. Their latest expression of support for the cause was through the release of their song ‘Spark’ released on 8th July 2021. The song is one of the original soundtracks for the Boy Love Korean Drama ‘Light On Me’. On the release of the song, Jun had said that just like the members of A.C.E fandom, CHOICE, are individuals who differ from one another, there are different ways to love among all kinds of people all over the world. He said that the group respects and acknowledges this fact.
A.C.E sure has many colours to show and with their growing popularity, we hope we can witness the change the group undergoes as a whole.
Also Read: Most Popular Ongoing Third-Generation Kpop Girl Groups
