Controversial YouTuber Sojang Criminally Indicted Over Defaming IVE’s Wonyoung

The legal battle of IVE member Wonyoung to bring the controversial YouTube channel Sojang to justice seems to have culminated in a favorable ending.

According to reports on May 14, KST, the creator behind the channel, previously identified as Park, has been indicted without detention by the Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office on charges of defamation and insult. Park was accused of defaming a total of 7 public figures, which included influencers and celebrities like Wonyoung.

In October 2024, Wonyoung and her agency, Starship Entertainment, sued Park, claiming damages. They partially won the lawsuit in January 2024, and the court ordered the YouTuber to pay ₩100 million KRW (about $75,200 USD) to the plaintiff. But in February, it was reported that Park refused to pay the penalty and had filed for a stay of execution of the ruling.

The new ruling, based on the additional investigation carried out by the prosecution, also upheld the initial decision of the court to penalize Park with ₩100 million KRW (about $73,200 USD) to be paid to Wonyoung as compensation in the civil suit. The prosecution calculated that Park had earned around ₩250 million KRW (about $183,000 USD) from the malicious videos posted on Sojang

You can read more details about the initial lawsuit filed by Wonyoung and Starship Entertainment against Sojang here.