A woman in her 30s has been put on trial for repeatedly leaving graffiti insulting singer BoA (real name Kwon Bo-ah) around the Gangnam Station area in Seoul.

According to the Kyunghyang Shinmun on the 24th, Criminal Division 7 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (led by Senior Prosecutor Cho Yoon-chul) indicted the 30-year-old woman, surnamed Cho (38), without detention on the 20th on charges of insult and property damage.

Cho is accused of using a permanent marker to leave sexually derogatory graffiti targeting BoA a total of eight times in June of last year on bus stop information boards and electronic billboards in Seoul's Gangnam and Gangdong districts, publicly insulting her and impairing the utility of public facilities.

The Seoul Gangnam Police Station received a complaint from BoA in June of last year, investigated the case, and forwarded it to the prosecution in July. Cho is reportedly known to have a history of being sentenced to fines multiple times for property damage and other charges after repeatedly leaving insulting graffiti targeting not only BoA but other celebrities as well.

The graffiti directed at BoA last year sparked public outrage among fans as it was discovered consecutively around the Gangnam Station area.

Fans shared the locations where the graffiti was found through online communities, reporting them to the police, the local district office, and SM Entertainment. Some fans even visited the sites in person to take part in voluntary cleanup activities, wiping away the graffiti with wet wipes.

One fan shared at the time, "I was so worried that the artist would see this graffiti and get hurt," adding, "I couldn't just leave it there, so I cleaned it off myself and reported it to the police."

(Photo: Yonhap News) (SBS Entertainment News, Reporter Kang Kyung-yoon)