Former YPDA Member-Turned-Streamer Jo Yu-jeong Says Manager Kidnapped Her, Threatened Her With Knife

Jo Yu-jeong (조유정), a former member of the Korean girl group YPDA who appeared on MBC’s audition program “My Teenage Girl,” later became an AfreecaTV streamer. In April 2024, she revealed that she had been kidnapped, confined, threatened and attacked by a manager she trusted. After Jo personally detailed the ordeal and her narrow escape, many online users reacted with shock.

In a social media post, Jo said she was kidnapped, restrained, robbed and assaulted on April 14, an experience she said left deep emotional scars. As several media outlets contacted her for details, she asked that she and her family be left alone for the time being.

She said the person involved was a manager who had assisted with her livestreaming work for more than a year, including monitoring broadcasts and organizing work-related matters. The two had built a degree of trust, she said.

On the day of the incident, the manager contacted her and asked to meet near the company, saying, “A friend is opening a shop and wants to give you a gift.” Because the location was in front of the office and the person was someone she knew, Jo went downstairs without giving it much thought.

After they met, the manager took out a pen and asked her to sign clothing inside a vehicle. While she was distracted, he suddenly forced her into a van and restrained her. Jo later said she repeatedly demanded to be released, but he threatened her with a knife and intimidated her to stop her from resisting.

The manager then took her phone and tried to obtain contact information for the company and her family. He also used her phone to send messages meant to make it appear that she “had something come up at the last minute and would not be going to work.”

Another manager, identified as “Chun,” noticed that the messages from Jo’s phone and the way she was speaking seemed unusual, and called Jo’s father. After confirming that her father knew nothing about the situation, Chun reported the matter to police.

After receiving the report, police called Jo several times, but the manager answered and falsely claimed to be her boyfriend. He said the two had only argued and were talking it through, and that he would take her home afterward. As police kept trying to make contact, the manager grew uneasy and later turned off her phone.

Trapped inside the vehicle, Jo realized she could not keep waiting. She said she took advantage of a moment when the manager left and spent about 10 to 15 minutes trying to free herself from her restraints. She then made her way to the front of the vehicle and eventually escaped through the door next to the driver’s seat.

After escaping the vehicle, she immediately ran into a nearby hair salon to ask for help, and the shop called police. Officers arrived and took her from the scene, finally getting her out of danger.

Jo later said she suffered injuries to her face, wrists and other areas in the incident and received inpatient treatment. She also said that because her physical and mental health had been severely affected, she would be unable to resume livestreaming until the case was further resolved. “I will recover as quickly as possible and come back to see everyone,” she said.

After the case became public, many online users expressed sympathy for Jo and anger over the manager’s actions. Another manager later said during a livestream that police had reviewed surveillance footage near the company and searched the surrounding area for Jo.

According to public reports at the time, the case remained under police investigation, and the person involved was ultimately arrested by police on April 18. Further details of the case were not fully disclosed at the time.