On June 4th, under the Korean Standard Time, the Seoul Central District Court, presided by Judge Choi Mi Young, handed down a partial victory to Starship Entertainment in its lawsuit seeking damages against Sojang, the operator of a notorious “cyber wrecking” YouTube channel infamous for disseminating rumors about celebrities, notably including Wonyoung of the K-pop group IVE. The court decreed that the defendant, pseudonymously labeled 'A (Sojang),' must compensate Starship with 50 million Korean Won (KRW), equivalent to approximately $36,500 USD, representing half of the original claim of 100 million KRW ($73,000 USD) sought by the agency for damages incurred.
Sojang gained infamy for churning out and disseminating malicious videos loaded with untruthful assertions aimed at celebrities. In response to the ongoing defamation, Starship Entertainment and Wonyoung initiated both civil and criminal actions against the controversial channel. In a parallel lawsuit filed solely by Wonyoung, the court further decreed that 'A' must fork out an additional 50 million KRW in damages for personally defaming her.
The defendant is currently entangled in multiple defamation allegations, all involving fabricated content directed at seven prominent celebrities. Prior to this ruling, 'A' was slapped with a fine of 10 million KRW ($7,320 USD) in September of last year for defaming singer Kang Daniel and was compelled to pay 30 million KRW ($22,000 USD) in a connected damages suit. In further rulings, 'A' was ordered to compensate BTS members V and Jungkook with a combined sum of 76 million KRW ($55,700 USD), placing the operator under escalating legal and financial scrutiny due to repeated losses inflicted upon idol groups.
