A YouTuber, identified as A, from a channel known for anti-fandom activities, received a suspended prison sentence for spreading fake news about IVE member Jang Won-young.
On the 15th, Kim Saet-byul, a judge from the Incheon District Court's Criminal Division 11, sentenced A to two years in prison, suspended for three years, for charges of defamation and insult under the Act on the Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection. A was also ordered to forfeit about 200 million won.
The judge noted, "Defamation causes irreparable harm to victims, thus necessitating strict punishment," adding that "the defendant consistently defamed famous celebrities and posted provocative content on the YouTube channel, gaining a considerable profit, indicating serious culpability."
However, the judge explained, "Considering that the defendant has finally admitted and expressed remorse, and has appeared to have had the opportunity to recognize the mistake deeply due to the media coverage of the incident, I decided on the sentence while considering the fact that 20 million won was pledged to Jang Won-young and a total of 60 million won was pledged to the victims."
A was indicted for posting 23 false videos about Jang Won-young and six other celebrities on YouTube from October 2021 to June of last year, damaging their reputations. Among them, A was also charged with insult for posting 19 defamatory videos about five of them and obstructing the business of their agencies.
At the time, A’s anti-fandom channel had about 60,000 subscribers. A created and posted provocative fake videos that contained malicious slanders against multiple victims using methods such as voice alteration and edited snippets, and operated the channel through a paid membership system of several tiers.
A's average monthly revenue from posting fake news videos was about 10 million won, and the total profit gained from operating the channel was confirmed to be 2.5 billion won.