Famous YouTuber with 1.3 Million Subscribers Sentenced to 10 Months in First Trial
Exploited Popularity of Videos Related to Delivery Accidents
[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] A YouTuber who fabricated a live broadcast claiming that a delivery person secretly ate the food he ordered was sentenced to a prison term with a suspended sentence. Known primarily for posting mukbang and daily life-related videos, he was a famous YouTuber with about 1.3 million subscribers at the time of the incident.
According to Yonhap News on the 27th, the Ansan Branch of Suwon District Court (Judge Oh Hyung-seok) announced on the 5th that YouTuber A (29), who was indicted for violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (defamation) and obstruction of business, was sentenced to 10 months in prison with a 2-year suspended sentence. B (23), who was accused of assisting in A’s fabricated broadcast, was sentenced to 5 months in prison with a 1-year suspended sentence.
A was indicted for fabricating a live broadcast on June 26, 2020, around 9 p.m. from his home, pretending that a certain chicken and pizza franchise delivered partially eaten food.
In the video, he showed chicken with bite marks and a pizza with two pieces less than the standard amount, claiming that the delivery person secretly ate the food. He also called the company to demand a refund directly.
However, this was a fabricated broadcast. Investigations revealed that A told B, 'We will do a broadcast claiming the delivery person ate the food,' and asked B to eat some of the delivered food and bring it to his house. Following A’s instructions, B participated in the fabrication by deliberately refusing the refund and acting as an unfriendly store owner on the phone.
As this false broadcast spread indiscriminately, the affected company filed a complaint against A. The company stated on its official website at the time, "After checking all stores nationwide, the claims made by A were found to be groundless," and took legal action.
As the controversy grew, A admitted that the broadcast was fabricated. He posted a video on his YouTube channel saying, "There is no excuse; it happened solely because of my greed," and expressed sincere apologies to the affected brand representatives and store owners.
A is known to have planned this false broadcast with B for profit. It was investigated that he planned the crime after seeing the high view counts of videos posted by other YouTubers related to delivery accidents.
Meanwhile, the court explained, "Considering the method of the crime, the defendants’ guilt is serious, and they have not been forgiven by the victims to date," adding, "Defendant A has a prior record of a fine for defamation in 2020."
However, the court also stated the sentencing reasons, "We took into account that the defendants generally admitted to the facts of the crime and that defendant B appeared to have participated passively."
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