Dubbed the 'Entertainment X-files', a computer file containing private information and rumours about the personal lives of some of South Korea's top celebrities has been spread on the internet, shaking the showbiz community and prompting calls for tighter privacy laws.
The 113-page document - commissioned by South Korea's largest advertising firm, Cheil Communications - was intended as confidential research into the marketing power of 99 entertainers.
But the document, which includes salacious rumours about its subjects' sexuality, supposed love affairs and plastic surgery records, found its way onto the internet after being sent by an employee of the research firm to Cheil last week.
Entertainers mentioned in the file include Bae Yong-joon, Kim Hee-seon, Song Seung-hun and Lee Byung-hun, who are not only household names in South Korea but are also popular throughout Asia.
The file spread rapidly among the country's internet users.
The affair has prompted concern that privacy laws have failed to keep up with technological changes.