YouTuber Fined in First Trial for Spreading False Claims About 'Bodybuilder Kang Kyungwon's Abuse of Power'

A bodybuilding YouTuber with 170,000 subscribers has been fined in the first trial for spreading false information about Kang Kyungwon, a former national team member.

Seoul Eastern District Court building. Photo by Yonhap News

According to the legal community on October 27, Judge Seo Dongwon of the Seoul Eastern District Court Criminal Division 6 imposed a fine of 2 million won on YouTuber A on October 23 for defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act.

Judge Seo stated, "The defendant publicly revealed false information with the intent to slander Mr. Kang, thereby damaging his reputation," and added, "Taking into account that the defendant denies the crime and has no prior criminal record, the fine does not appear to be excessive."

A was indicted on charges of spreading false information on a YouTube channel in September 2020, claiming that when Kang was a high school student, he 'received money under the pretense of lesson fees' and 'told parents that their children needed to take lessons from him if they wanted to get into college, and that he would take care of association-related matters.'

On October 24, A announced through a YouTube video that he had appealed, stating, "The court convicted me solely based on testimony from Kang's side."

Kang Kyungwon served as a member of the Korean national bodybuilding team for over ten years starting in 1999, winning gold medals at the National Sports Festival for twelve consecutive years. He also won a gold medal at the 2002 Busan Asian Games, where bodybuilding was included as an official event for the first time.