Prosecutors Directly Investigate Lawsuit Against Open Sympathy TV for Reporting "Lee Young-ae's Friendship with Kim Geon-hee"

It has been confirmed that the prosecution is directly investigating the case in which actress Lee Young-ae sued the representative of a YouTube channel for defamation, alleging that her donation to the Syngman Rhee Presidential Memorial Foundation was related to her acquaintance with First Lady Kim Keon-hee.

According to the legal community on the 8th, the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office has been investigating since August this year the case in which Lee Young-ae filed a complaint last October against Jeong Cheon-su, the representative of the YouTube channel Yeollin Gonggam TV, for violating the Information and Communications Network Act (defamation).

On September 20, 2022, at the National Assembly Members' Office Building, actress Lee Young-ae (right) and short track speed skater Choi Min-jung, who attended the '2022 National Brand Conference' hosted by the National Brand Promotion Agency, posed after receiving awards. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Earlier, Lee Young-ae’s side filed a complaint with the Yongsan Police Station in Seoul and a damages lawsuit claiming 250 million won at the Seoul Western District Court after Yeollin Gonggam TV reported on October 26 last year that "Lee Young-ae’s donation of 50 million won to the Syngman Rhee Presidential Memorial Foundation for the construction of the Syngman Rhee Presidential Memorial Hall was related to President Yoon Seok-yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee."

Subsequently, the case was transferred to the Yangju Police Station in Gyeonggi Province, which has jurisdiction over the defendant’s address, and a decision of non-prosecution was made. However, following an objection from Lee Young-ae’s side, the case was sent to the prosecution. The Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office, which took over the case, dismissed it in June due to insufficient evidence, ruling 'no charges.'

Lee Young-ae’s side appealed against the prosecution’s non-indictment decision, and the higher authority, the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, accepted the appeal and ordered a reinvestigation last August.

Typically, a reinvestigation involves the higher prosecution office sending the case back to the originally investigating prosecution office. However, in this case, the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office decided to conduct the investigation directly without sending it back to the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office.

Generally, when the case structure is simple and there is little additional investigation required, the higher prosecution office may order a reinvestigation and proceed with the investigation directly without sending the case back.

Lee Young-ae’s side maintains that they suffered damages due to defamation by false facts, while Jeong’s side claims that the reported content was not false and that it was a report in the public interest, thus denying any illegality.