Jang Wonyoung Wins 100 Million Won Compensation Lawsuit Against YouTuber 'Taldeoksuyongso' (Update)

Jang Wonyoung of the girl group IVE won a damages lawsuit against a YouTuber who continuously posted videos containing false information about her.

It is known that the YouTuber claimed either ignorance of the falsehood, that the information was not false, or that it was done for public interest purposes such as the public's right to know about celebrities, but did not respond to the lawsuit, resulting in a judgment without a trial.

IVE Jang Wonyoung. Photo by Jang Jinhyung aymsdream@

According to the legal community on the 17th, Judge Park Ji-won of the Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 210 ruled in favor of Jang Wonyoung in the damages lawsuit she filed against Park, the operator of the YouTube channel Taldeoksooyongso, ordering Park to pay Jang Wonyoung 100 million KRW plus interest.

Previously, Jang Wonyoung and her agency Starship Entertainment filed a criminal complaint against Park for defamation and obstruction of business, claiming that Taldeoksooyongso was continuously spreading false information and damaging her reputation, and also filed a civil lawsuit seeking damages for illegal acts.

This ruling pertains to the lawsuit filed personally by Jang Wonyoung, which was concluded without defense as Park did not respond, finalized on the 21st of last month.

The criminal case was investigated by the Gangnam Police Station and recently forwarded to the prosecution.

In the complaint, Jang Wonyoung’s side stated that Park joined Google’s advertising program AdSense and placed ads on his YouTube channel 'Taldeoksooyongso,' which is structured so that the more views and clicks, the higher the revenue.

Park was described as the operator of the YouTube channel from April 2021 to around June 23, 2023, running what is known as a 'cyber reckka channel,' spreading false information and rumors about celebrities to gain economic profit.

Additionally, Park recruited paid members (premium members) who paid monthly fees ranging from 1,990 KRW to 600,000 KRW within the YouTube channel, and considering the channel’s 77,500 subscribers and total views of 151,741,347 as of December 17, 2022, it is presumed that he earned significant economic profits.

Jang Wonyoung’s side argued, "The videos uploaded and disseminated by the defendant on the YouTube channel were created with the purpose of increasing views for profit, focusing on the plaintiff, a member of one of the most popular female idol groups, IVE, and all content about the plaintiff consisted entirely of falsehoods or insults amounting to defamation," adding, "This is clearly an illegal act in civil law and also constitutes criminal defamation and insult."

They continued, "The plaintiff suffered severe mental distress and significant disruption to her entertainment activities due to these videos filled with falsehoods and rumors, the comments on them, and the process of their amplification and reproduction, which is socially understandable," and "Such 'cyber reckka' even led to suicide cases and has become a serious social issue."

Jang Wonyoung’s side claimed that Park defamed her by posting videos on his YouTube channel containing false dating rumors, such as "a celebrity abandoned his girlfriend A and is now seeing Jang Wonyoung," or false statements like "Jang Wonyoung was not invited to a fashion show, so her boyfriend arranged for her to attend," or "She visited the fashion show without an invitation, wearing secondhand luxury goods as the world’s first ambassador," thereby damaging her reputation.

The 100 million KRW damages claim was calculated by multiplying the minimum amount awarded in similar cases by the number of videos Park uploaded.

Jang Wonyoung’s side explained, "For a single instance of false information or personality rights infringement through media reports, compensation ranges from 5 million to 10 million KRW, and in some cases exceeds 100 million KRW," adding, "Considering that the defendant’s YouTube channel is highly accessible to the public, the videos criticizing the plaintiff recorded actual views in the hundreds of thousands, and defamation occurred continuously over about a year with more than 20 videos, none of which were criticisms of any opinions or actions presented by the plaintiff in broadcasts but were baseless videos edited to increase views and containing insults at the level of personality defamation, even multiplying the minimum compensation recognized in other cases by the number of videos uploaded by the defendant exceeds approximately 100 million KRW."

Jang Wonyoung’s side emphasized the illegality of Park’s actions, which were committed for his own profit.

They stated, "As malicious comments about celebrities became a problem leading to suicides, portal sites closed comment sections on celebrity news reports to address the issue, but the defendant did not just post malicious comments; he produced and posted videos that fundamentally spread malicious rumors, and the impact of YouTube videos is incomparable to simple comments or traditional media," adding, "Compared to malicious comments, the defendant sought to generate profit through video editing and production, making the degree of illegality much more serious."

Starship stated, "Since November 2022, we have been pursuing civil and criminal lawsuits, including overseas litigation, against 'Taldeoksooyongso,' which has continuously harassed our artists," and "Taldeoksooyongso has caused serious defamation through continuous false information dissemination, obstructed our business, and caused severe distress to artists and fans. We are doing our best to hold them fully accountable through ongoing lawsuits."

They added, "Starship operates a constant monitoring system to protect the rights of our artists, including their reputation, privacy, and dignity, and will continue to take all possible legal measures without settlement regarding defamation and additional damages to our artists."