YouTuber appeals ruling on videos defaming celebrities to top court

 
A YouTuber known as Sojang, who earned hundreds of millions of won by posting fake videos defaming celebrities — namely Jang Won-young of the girl group IVE — has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court after losing her case in the appellate court.
 
The lawyer representing the content creator filed an appeal with the Incheon District Court on Friday, challenging the appellate ruling on charges including defamation and insult under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection.
 
 
The YouTuber reportedly claims that the sentence is too severe and that the restitution order is unjustified.
 
In the appellate trial, she received the same sentence as in the lower court — two years in prison, suspended for three years, along with a forfeiture order of 210 million won ($145,000).
 
Between October 2021 and June 2023, she uploaded 23 videos to YouTube defaming seven celebrities and influencers. The videos spread false claims such as “Jang Won-young sabotaged a fellow trainee’s debut out of jealousy” and “other celebrities engaged in prostitution or underwent plastic surgery.” She reportedly earned 250 million won from the content.
 
She also faces charges of insulting two other female idol group members by uploading videos mocking their appearance.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]