Kim's Side: "'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' Trademark Application"
Broadcaster Kim Eo-jun (55), who stepped down from TBS Radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' and launched a YouTube channel with a similar name, has been accused of trademark infringement and other charges.
On the morning of the 16th, Seoul City Council member Lee Jong-bae (People Power Party) filed a complaint against Kim at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency for violating the Trademark Act and the Unfair Competition Prevention Act. Lee stated, "Using the name 'News Factory' on his YouTube channel without any authorization constitutes an infringement of TBS's trademark rights," explaining the reason for the complaint.
He also claimed, "Kim Eo-jun admitted on the broadcast that he made the YouTube studio background exactly like the TBS radio studio, which suggests he had the intent to violate the law."
Furthermore, he added, "The name 'News Factory' was created with the taxes of Seoul citizens and the efforts of TBS members, not owned personally by Kim Eo-jun," and "Using this trademark to generate enormous profits is effectively unjust enrichment."
However, Kim himself applied for a trademark related to the TBS radio program name 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' at the Korean Intellectual Property Office on October 21 last year. It is currently under review, and he is awaiting the results.
Kim, who hosted 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' for over six years since September 2016, voluntarily stepped down after the Seoul City Council passed an ordinance last November to halt Seoul's budget support for TBS. He ended the broadcast on December 30. The program achieved success, ranking first in radio listenership in Seoul and the metropolitan area for 20 consecutive quarters, but it was continuously embroiled in controversies over political bias.
People Power Party's Seoul City Councilor Lee Jong-bae is speaking at a press conference accusing Kim Eo-jun of trademark infringement in front of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 16th. [Photo by Yonhap News]
The People Power Party, which holds the majority in the Seoul City Council, has long criticized the program for political bias and loss of fairness. Afterward, Kim launched a YouTube channel called 'Kim Eo-jun's Humility is Difficult News Factory' and aired the first broadcast on the 9th of this month. The channel surpassed 1 million subscribers just four days after its first broadcast, on the 13th. As of the 16th, the channel has 1.09 million subscribers.
According to the YouTube ranking site 'Playboard,' from the 9th to the 13th, the cumulative Super Chat revenue of 'Kim Eo-jun's Humility is Difficult News Factory' was approximately 212.19 million KRW.
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