IVE's Jang Wonyoung Wins Lawsuit Against Former YouTuber Sojang

Group IVE’s Jang Wonyoung and her agency Starship Entertainment won the lawsuit against YouTuber Sojang for damages.

Last month, the 210th Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Park Jiwon) ruled in favor of some of the plaintiffs in the 100 million won damages lawsuit filed by Jang Won-young and Starship Entertainment against Mr. Park (Sojang).

The court ordered that 100,000,000 KRW ($ ~74,532.87 USD) be paid, calculated at an annual rate of 12% until the day it is fully repaid. Mr. Park must pay not only the interest but also the court costs incurred during the lawsuit.

Jang Wonyyoung filed a lawsuit for damages in October last year. Jang Wonyoung’s lawyer said that all of the content uploaded to the YouTube channel was consistently made up of false facts or insults at the level of personal insults, and she submitted evidence that the videos posted by Mr. Park on his YouTube channel were false. Her lawyer said, “This is a clear illegal act civilly, and it also amounts to defamation and insult criminally.”

Jang Wonyyoung and Starship Entertainment sued Mr. Park on charges of defamation and insult in addition to claiming damages. The case is being investigated by Gangnam Police Station. Additionally, a separate lawsuit is in progress regarding Starship Entertainment’s defamation and interference with Starship Entertainment’s business with false information about Jang Wonyoung.

In this civil suit and the criminal case in which he was accused, Mr. Park claimed that he “didn’t know it was false” and that he had “the right to know about celebrities.” Jang Wonyoung’s lawyer said, “The artist and the agency feel unbearable anger at the fact that she even claimed that the video was illegal because it was uploaded for public purposes.”

Jang Wonyoung’s claim is that due to the video based on her rumor, not only Jang Wonyoung but also other celebrities who became her victims suffered psychological pain, and her entertainment activities were also hindered. The lawyer emphasized, “Mr. Park seeks to generate profit through video production and editing, and the degree of illegality is much more serious.”

Meanwhile, Starship Entertainment received Mr. Park’s identity from the U.S. court last year and filed a complaint. Mr. Park deleted his YouTube account along with his apology, but Starship continued to pursue the lawsuit. With Jang Won-young’s victory, YouTubers who used the fact that it is an overseas site as a shield to insult celebrities can no longer avoid the law.