YouTuber Faces Trial for Earning 250 Million Won from Fake News Video Claiming "Jang Wonyoung Jealous"

A YouTuber in her 30s who maliciously posted fake videos defaming celebrities such as girl group IVE's Jang Wonyoung (20) on her own YouTube channel and earned hundreds of millions of won in profits has been brought to trial.

The Criminal Division 1 of Incheon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Gon-ho) announced on the 14th that YouTuber A (35, female) was indicted without detention on charges of defamation and insult under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc.

IVE Jang Wonyoung

A is accused of posting 23 videos defaming seven celebrities and influencers on her YouTube channel "Taldeoksuyongso" from October 2021 to June last year, thereby damaging their reputations. She is also charged with posting 19 videos that disparaged the appearances of five of the victims on YouTube.

A produced and distributed false videos claiming that "Jang Wonyoung was jealous and caused a fellow trainee's debut to be canceled" and that "other celebrities were involved in prostitution or had plastic surgery."

Investigations revealed that A operated her YouTube channel as a paid membership service and also encouraged subscribers to support her financially. The membership levels ranged from "Trainee," with a monthly fee of 1,990 won, to "Special," costing up to 600,000 won, across four tiers. Analysis of the YouTube channel's account by prosecutors showed that A earned approximately 250 million won in profits over two years from June 2021.

In December last year, the prosecution received cases involving three victims, including Jang Wonyoung, from the police and conducted supplementary investigations. Last month, they additionally received complaints from five more victims. During the prosecution's investigation, A claimed, "The YouTube videos are merely expressions of opinion. I created the videos for public interest on matters of concern."

Earlier, Jang Wonyoung filed a lawsuit against A for damages, citing continuous dissemination of false information that damaged her reputation, and won the case in January. The court ordered A to pay 100 million won.