Former Korean Navy Officer-Turned-YouTuber Assaults Another YouTuber In Front Of Court

Ken Rhee is a former ROK Navy Seal-turned-YouTuber, who gained immense international attention last year when he joined the volunteer troops of Ukraine to fight against the Russian invasion. Since Ukraine was, and still is, under the Korean government’s travel ban imposed on February 13 due to escalating tensions in the region, Rhee’s move was labeled a violation of the Passport Act.

On March 20, Rhee attended the first hearing for unauthorized entry into Ukraine at the Seoul Central Criminal Court District 21, where he had a run-in with another YouTube named GooJeYeok. When he followed Rhee, asking questions, Rhee reportedly lashed and punched him in the face right on the court premises.

GooJeYeok is known for his exposé of controversial individuals, and over the past few years, he has raised some suspicions against Rhee, including money laundering and sexual harassment. Ken Rhee, on the other hand, became somewhat of a public figure in 2020 after appearing as a training instructor on the military-themed YouTube show Fake Men. The same year, Rhee’s past conviction for sexual assault came to light, and he admitted that he had been fined for groping a woman in a club in 2018. However, he claimed that he was innocent and that the ruling was solely based on the victim’s statement, which turned out to be untrue since the court had verified the information with CCTV records and witness testimony.

On March 20, GooJeYeok was following Rhee outside the court, trying to ask him questions about his financial controversies. When he asked, “You’ve had bad credit for six years; don’t you feel sorry for your creditors?” Rhee cursed at him and slapped his hand, making his phone fly out of his hands. Still, the YouTuber kept pestering him with questions, following him to the parking lot, and that’s when Rhee allegedly punched him in the face.

GooJeYeok reported the incident to the police immediately. However, netizens feel that the YouTuber was overstepping boundaries and showed understanding towards Rhee’s behavior.

• “I wish all the YouTubers who make money out of tormenting others would just disappear.”
• “I think anyone would be angry to see a YouTuber act like a reporter…In my opinion, we really need laws to deal with situations like this.”
• “Just by looking at his body, it seems like he’s someone who has lived a very different life and can’t understand the other person at all.”
• “That, too, is a form of stalking. We need to make a criminal case and create outcries against YouTubers who do this for personal profits.”
• “I wonder why a person like that wants to torment someone else that much.”
• “Isn’t it a problem to leave a normal person, who’s not even a reporter, acting like one among actual reporters??”