YouTuber ordered to pay $36,000 to IVE agency over Jang Won-young defamation

A Seoul court has ruled in favor of Starship Entertainment, the agency behind K-pop girl group IVE, in a defamation lawsuit against the operator of the controversial YouTube channel Sojang.

The court ordered the defendant to pay 50 million won ($36,000) in damages.

Judge Choi Mi-young of the Seoul Central District Court’s civil division ruled on Wednesday that the channel operator, identified by the surname Park, must compensate Starship for spreading false and defamatory content about IVE member Jang Won-young between April 2021 and June 2023.

The court also ruled that Park must pay interest of 5 percent annually from Aug. 12, 2023, to June 4, 2024, and 12 percent annually from the following day until the full amount is paid.

Starship filed the lawsuit in November 2022, initially seeking 100 million won in damages, claiming that Park had posted malicious rumors targeting Jang.

Separately, Jang also filed her own lawsuit against Park in October 2023, seeking 100 million won in damages for the posting of defamatory and false content on Sojang channel.

In January, the appeals court ruled partially in Jang’s favor, ordering Park to pay 50 million won. The ruling became final after both parties declined to appeal.

Park is also facing criminal charges for uploading defamatory videos targeting Jang Won-young and other celebrities. In the first trial in January, Park was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for three years, and the appeal is currently ongoing.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.