An aide to a Korean lawmaker revealed Saturday that parliament will launch an inquiry into claims that performances by K-pop girl groups are too sexually suggestive, reported AFP.

The head honchos of Korea's three leading entertainment companies have since been summoned for discussions with the culture committee.

"The committee will ask them whether the teenagers have been compelled to wear revealing clothes and sing songs with suggestive moves and lyrics," said the aide to lawmaker Ahn Hyoung-Hwan of the ruling Grand National Party.

"Some of the popular girl groups are sixth and seventh graders (aged 13-14) ... we need some legal devices to protect those young performers from possible abuse."

This decision comes at a time when more and more ultra-young girl groups are making their debuts.

GP Basic, a new girl group which debuted last month, is made up of six members with an average age of a little over 13. Its youngest member, Janey, is 12 years old and still studying in elementary school.

The impending probe also appears to have come at a time when performances are becoming raunchier, as girl groups struggle to set themselves apart from the ever-growing number of competitors.

K-pop trio Heart and Mind's (HAM) management company recently announced that Korean broadcaster KBS had banned the girl group's music video for their song "So Sexy" because it was too sexually suggestive.

The music video saw the trio dance suggestively, drawing attention to their chest and hips on numerous occasions while singing a song with sexually charged lyrics.

Source: Channel News Asia