‘Sojang’ Earned 250 Million Won From Malicious Videos About Celebrities Including Jang Won-young

On May 14th, the Criminal Division 1 of the Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office disclosed that they had pressed charges against YouTuber A (35 years old, female) for defamation and insults, in accordance with the Act on Promotion of Information and Communication Network Utilization and Information Protection. They also stated that she was indicted without being detained.

From October 2021 to June of the previous year, A used their YouTube channel “Sojang”to upload 23 videos containing defamatory content about seven celebrities, including entertainers and influencers. Additionally, A is said to have made disparaging remarks about the appearance of five individuals a total of 19 times.

Due to the investigation, A implemented a paid membership system on their YouTube channel and actively encouraged subscribers to become sponsors. The membership system consisted of four levels, with the lowest being “trainee”at a cost of 1,990 won per month and the highest being “special”at a price of 600,000 won.

The channel gained a significant number of subscribers, with some of its videos containing edited and misleading content about celebrities receiving high levels of views. At one point, the channel had reached 70,000 subscribers.

The prosecution’s investigation of the YouTube channel revealed that A generated 250 million won in just two years, beginning in June 2021. Furthermore, A was able to buy real estate with a portion of the profits earned from the channel.

Apart from Jang Won-young, numerous other individuals have also lodged complaints against YouTuber “Sojang”. The prosecution has even uncovered further evidence and twice sought arrest warrants for A, although they were ultimately denied by the court, which stated that there was no reason to be concerned about A fleeing.

In January of this year, Jang Won-young successfully sued A for damaging her reputation through the dissemination of false information on A’s YouTube channel. The court ruled in favor of Jang Won-young and ordered A to pay her 100 million won in compensation.