YouTuber Tzuyang (real name Park Jeong-won) confessed her feelings at the time regarding the cyber rekka damage.
Tzuyang appeared as a witness regarding the cyber rekka damage at the Science. ICT. Broadcasting. and Communications Committee hearing held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 14th.
Appearing as a witness and questioned by lawmakers that day, Tzuyang said of her feelings when she suffered damage from cyber rekka, "At the time, I was so scared and at a loss that I could do nothing. I had endured threats and extortion for years, but the reason I put up with it was largely because of the fact that I was a victim and the parts I did not want to reveal as a woman," adding, "Because of the cyber rekka, the fact of the damage was exposed online, and distorted and untrue falsehoods began to spread. It was very hard at the time. I was so afraid of their retaliation that I could not respond to anything and could not sue. After that, with the help of people around me, I began to confront them one by one, thinking it was not something to avoid but something to face, so I proceeded with lawsuits and am resolving things. It was difficult, but I hoped that the actions I took then would help determine right and wrong."
Asked whether she had asked YouTube for help, Tzuyang said, "On the platform where I am active, we used the reporting procedures we use directly," and added, "We used procedures such as contacting YouTube officials directly or pressing the report button for videos that were malicious or contained false information, but it was not easy. The speed at which videos spread is very fast, and even if a deletion process is carried out after hundreds of thousands view a video, it is not easy to clear up misunderstandings. I understand that, at shortest, it was a week and, at longest, some were not deleted at all."
She added, "It involved burdensome expense. I am very grateful that many people showed interest and some helped. Thanks to many people watching the videos, I received financial help, but I think it would be difficult for ordinary people to bear. It would be hard to raise funds while working, and victims might need to visit hospitals. The hardest parts are secondary victimization and social scrutiny. There were times I could do nothing because I was afraid of the perpetrator's retaliation."
Attorney Kim Tae-yeon, who attended with Tzuyang, said, "Violation of the Information and Communications Network Act for defamation is generally the law that is most often applied, and since it carries up to seven years in prison, I do not think it is light. Although the proportion of actual prison sentences is increasing, among content creators it is generally perceived that crimes using the same content result mainly in fines. Creators are not very interested in whether there is a criminal record and are focused solely on generating revenue, so using famous people to increase views and generate super chat revenue is more economically beneficial than paying fines, so I think it is difficult to secure deterrent power with current punishments alone in the present situation."
He continued, "Advertising revenue and income from super chats can exceed fines. Using famous people like Tzuyang yields higher view counts and much greater revenue. Current laws are insufficient to curb abuse. I believe laws that can practically stop it are needed."
Tzuyang said, "I have suffered a lot of damage from false information, so it is not that I do not want such a bill. But I am cautious to speak legally because I do not know the law well and good laws can be abused. This is an important social issue, and I came here hoping that, based on the harm I suffered, no one else will experience the same damage. I hope the commissioners and experts will create systems needed by society," adding, "I was worried whether I should come here, but I am grateful to be invited to this important occasion. As someone who has experienced many malicious comments, I am now accustomed to them, but there are many people who are not. When leaving comments, I hope people would consider that the other person has feelings and can feel sadness."
Earlier, in July last year, Tzuyang said in a YouTube video, "Three years ago, my former agency CEO (former boyfriend) brought up the story of these two women and said they were 'threatening me.' He said to silence them with my money, and the producer had no choice but to go meet the two and over about two years paid 216 million won."
In this case, Gojeyeok was sentenced to three years in prison on appeal, the fabricator detector received one year in prison with a three-year suspended sentence, the co-defendant Karakula was sentenced to one year in prison with a three-year suspended sentence and 240 hours of community service, and Crocodile was fined 5 million won.
Also, on Aug. 20, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 12 (Judge Koo Chang-gyu) sentenced a woman in her 30s, A, who was indicted on charges of joint extortion under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Violent Crimes, to two years in prison with a suspended sentence, and a woman in her 20s, B, to one year and six months in prison with a four-year suspended sentence. A and B are accused of threatening Tzuyang's side from June 2021 to Nov. 2022 by saying they would expose that she had worked at entertainment establishments and extorting 216 million won. In particular, A is also accused of attempting to demand an additional 15 million won in 2023 on the condition of not exposing private life, which failed.
[OSEN]