Jang Wonyoung, a South Korean singer from K-pop girl group IVE, has won a lawsuit against the YouTube content creator Sojang. According to a statement released by Wonyoung’s agency, Starship Entertainment, Sojang allegedly circulated false information about the company’s artists, including Wonyoung. The statement also mentioned that Sojang committed grave defamation and that he caused serious pain to the artists and fans. The criminal charges filed against Sojang were forwarded from the police to the prosecution, while legal proceedings concerning the matter were ongoing.
Starship Entertainment has filed two civil lawsuits against Sojang for defamation, with one scheduled to be tried later this month. Wonyoung herself filed the other lawsuit and won the case through deemed confession, as there was no response from the other party. According to Soompi, the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favour of the singer on December 21, ordering ₩100 million (around £59,000) to be paid to Jang for damages.
It was reported that Sojang was notorious for his controversial celebrity-related content on his now-deleted YouTube channel, Taldeok Camp. In September 2022, the channel uploaded a video targeting Jang, claiming that she had forced a rumoured seventh member of IVE out of the group before their debut. The channel had also previously uploaded other videos with unsubstantiated allegations against the singer. In response, Starship Entertainment announced plans to take strong legal action against the spread of malicious information, though it did not specify the target of its lawsuit at the time.
The agency also stated that it is constantly using its own monitoring system to protect the rights of its artists, their reputations and privacy. It urged fans to continue reporting such issues since they have been of great assistance in their legal proceedings. The lawsuit comes amid increasing legal actions against malicious online content and follows examples of South Korean lawmakers introducing a bill to reduce abusive comments on online forums
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