Accomplices Karakula and Crocodile Also Headed to Trial
From the left, Gujeok, Jujakgambalsa, and Karakula, who were arrested and indicted on the 14th for extorting or aiding extortion of famous YouTuber Tzuyang. Photo by Yonhap News TV screen capture.
Famous YouTuber Jjuyang (real name Park Jung-won), who has over ten million subscribers, was blackmailed for tens of millions of won, or had such acts abetted by other YouTubers, who have now been indicted while in custody.
Initially thought to be a crime stemming from the personal misconduct of some YouTubers, this case was revealed through swift investigations including prosecution raids and analysis of group chat rooms to be an organized and planned crime by so-called 'Cyber Rekkas.'
The Criminal Division 2 (Chief Prosecutor Jung Hyun-seung) and Criminal Division 5 (Chief Prosecutor Cheon Dae-won) of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office indicted YouTubers Gujeyeok (31, real name Lee Jun-hee) and Jujakgambalsa (32, real name Jeon Guk-jin) on charges of blackmail against Jjuyang on the 14th.
The two are accused of intimidating Jjuyang in February last year with the message, "We have received reports about your tax evasion and personal life suspicions. If you pay money, we will not publicize this," and extorting 55 million won.
Gujeyeok was investigated to have boasted of his influence by telling Jjuyang, "The Cyber Rekka Association has also received reports. To manage YouTubers and journalists so that the reports are not disclosed, you need to pay about 50 million won."
Earlier, in October 2021, Gujeyeok was also charged with blackmail for threatening Jjuyang with "I will upload a video saying you harass small business owners by filing excessive lawsuits," and around the same time, extorting 22 million won from AfreecaTV BJ A by demanding, "I will take down the video alleging your scam coin (fraudulent cryptocurrency); please cover my lawyer fees."
Additionally, in May last year, Gujeyeok is accused of coercion by demanding Jjuyang to promote a restaurant owned by his acquaintance to prevent the publicization of tax evasion suspicions and forcing him to film a promotion.
On the same day, the prosecution indicted YouTuber Karakula (35, real name Lee Se-wook) on charges of abetting Gujeyeok's blackmail and extorting 30 million won by threatening BJ A, and YouTuber Crocodile (39, real name Choi Il-hwan) was indicted without detention for abetting Gujeyeok's blackmail.
It was revealed that in February last year, the two encouraged Gujeyeok's blackmail by saying, "Rather than uploading expos? videos about Jjuyang, it is more profitable to extort money directly." Karakula is also accused of extorting 30 million won from BJ A in June 2022 by threatening, "An article exposing your scam coin fraud will be published. Give me money to suppress the report."
Meanwhile, the prosecution refiled an arrest warrant for lawyer Choi, who was previously denied an arrest warrant by the court on the 2nd, on charges of blackmail against Jjuyang. After the warrant was denied, the prosecution added charges including violation of the Personal Information Protection Act and breach of official secrets following supplementary investigations and refiled the arrest warrant.
The prosecution, having received complaints against Gujeyeok and Jujakgambalsa on the 16th of last month, swiftly launched a forced investigation under the directive of Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok's "strict response," detaining them on the 26th, just ten days after receiving the complaints, and also detained Karakula on the 2nd of this month.
Diagram of the extortion scheme involving Jjuyang. Table provided by Suwon District Prosecutors' Office
According to the prosecution's investigation, they called themselves the 'Korean Online Tow Truck Association,' strengthening their bonds through regular meetings and gatherings, and scouted targets for their crimes via KakaoTalk group chats, sharing related information in real time.
In the Jjuyang case, Gujeyeok was found to have immediately shared related reports in the group chat and exchanged calls with others.
During this process, they encouraged or advised each other with remarks like, "How much do you think you earn if Jjuyang's video goes viral?", "Just forget about it," and "For now, it's better to roughly make a video and show it to Jjuyang," demonstrating that the crimes were committed in an organized and planned manner.
Furthermore, as the investigation approached, they attempted to destroy evidence systematically by editing call recordings and disclosed the situation to the media immediately after the investigation began to allow other accomplices to prepare, the prosecution said.
The prosecution stated, "The defendants produced and distributed content on video platforms that sensationalized and distorted others' weaknesses or unfortunate incidents to increase subscribers and views, thereby earning advertising revenue. They pretended to be 'avengers of justice' under the guise of 'private sanctions,' but in reality, they committed predatory crimes that amounted to cyberbullying or a profit model exchanging exposure of others' weaknesses for money."
They added, "While outwardly claiming 'social denunciation and realization of justice through public discourse,' they did not target social elites but focused on 'transactions' mostly with powerless individuals or famous people with vulnerabilities. In particular, Gujeyeok and Jujakgambalsa extorted large sums by exploiting Jjuyang's fear that his private life might be exposed, yet when social controversy arose, they portrayed themselves as 'black knights' protecting the victim."
Hwang Woo-jin, spokesperson for the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, said, "The defendants acted as Cyber Rekkas, producing and distributing content about specific individuals' weaknesses or private lives on YouTube under the pretext of 'private sanctions,' and committed predatory crimes by turning blackmail, including extortion in exchange for exposing weaknesses, into a profit model beyond just advertising revenue from subscriber growth."
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