A court in South Korea has ordered a social media user to pay 500,000 won ($360; £265) for defaming a K-pop boyband - whose members are virtual characters.
The five members of K-pop group Plave are voiced and animated through motion-capture technology by real, anonymous performers.
Last year, Plave's agency filed a civil suit against against a social media user for making derogatory remarks about the group online.
The ruling by the court, handed down in May and made public on the court's website this month, is among the first to deal with virtual K-pop idols - an increasingly popular breed in South Korea's entertainment industry.
Plave, which debuted in 2023, is one of K-pop's most successful virtual stars, with more than one million followers on its YouTube channel where they regularly post music videos and vlogs.
