The prosecution sought a 4-year prison sentence for YouTuber Gujeokyeok (real name Lee Jun-hee), who was indicted for blackmailing and extorting money from YouTuber "Tzuyang," who has over 10 million subscribers.
During the sentencing hearing for Gujeokyeok on charges of extortion and others, held on the 10th before Judge Park Irang of the Suwon District Court's Criminal Division 14, the prosecution requested the court to impose such a sentence. Additionally, they sought a 5-year prison sentence for lawyer Choi, who was also indicted on charges of threatening Tzuyang, and prison terms ranging from 3 to 1 years for the others, including Jujakgambyeolsa (real name Jeong Guk-jin), Karakyura (real name Lee Se-wook), and Crocodile (real name Choi Il-hwan).
The prosecution explained its reasoning for the sentence, stating, "The defendant opportunistically planned the crime by taking advantage of knowing someone else's weakness, intending to satisfy personal greed. In an ecosystem where subscriber growth directly correlates to profit, they competitively produced sensational content to increase subscribers and views and extorted money by threatening to expose someone's personal shortcomings using their fame."
Gujeokyeok's lawyer argued during the final arguments that the defendant did not make demands for money from the victim. The lawyer stated, "The victim claims that the material related to their personal life, which was allegedly conveyed to the defendant by A, Tzuyang's ex-boyfriend and former agency representative, is entirely false. It raises doubts about how falsehoods could be used as a means of extortion," and added, "The money received by the defendant from the victim's company was a result of an agreement for managing another YouTuber who was aware of the victim's personal life, and there were no threatening comments made during this process."
The lawyer also added, "The evidence in this case is a recording saved on the defendant's phone submitted by an acquaintance who bore ill will toward the defendant. This is illegally collected evidence that did not adhere to constitutional and criminal procedure laws, and secondary evidence based on this cannot be used as evidence of guilt."
In his final statement, Gujeokyeok said, "The aforementioned acquaintance borrowed my phone, saying 'I am in danger of being arrested, so please lend me your phone,' and then forensicized all the deleted materials and backed up the recording files related to this case to submit them to the prosecution and others," adding, "I fell victim to a scammer who seized my phone, which led to the current situation, and the victim's personal life came to light." He continued, "However, I want to express my sincere apologies for my mistake that led to the victim's hurt, and I will strive for restitution, carrying a sense of guilt toward the victim for the rest of my life."
Jujakgambyeolsa stated, "I have been reflecting and regretting a lot during my six months in custody. I feel truly sorry for the victim," and added, "I will live honestly and sincerely in the future."
Karakyura said, "I feel sorry and remorseful for causing social controversy," and noted, "At the beginning of the controversy, I also felt unfairness, thinking, 'Do I really have to be scolded to this extent?' However, as time passed, I reflected that someone who has influence over others should have been more careful with their behavior and words."
Crocodile said, "I regret this. I ask for leniency."
Lawyer Choi stated, "As the person who directly delivered the materials for this case to Gujeokyeok, I feel a heavy burden on my shoulders and feel very sorry in a moral sense," and continued, "However, I wonder if the prosecution's one-sided indictment is really the right action to take instead of approaching the substantive truth and recklessly portraying me as a bad person."
Gujeokyeok and Jujakgambyeolsa were arrested and indicted on August 14 last year for the accusation of extorting 55 million won from Tzuyang by scaring her, saying, "I received information regarding your tax evasion and personal life. I won't publicize this if you give me money."
They also investigated that they forced filming by demanding, "If you don't want this to go public, please promote my acquaintance's restaurant," and threatened, saying, "I will post a video claiming that you have been harassing small business owners with frequent lawsuits" in October 2021.
Karakyura and Crocodile are accused of encouraging Gujeokyeok to extort money directly instead of posting a revealing video about Tzuyang.
Lawyer Choi faces charges for threatening Tzuyang and A after initially knowing them through a civil lawsuit filed against a restaurant by A in October 2021. He was the legal representative for the restaurant (the defendant) and is investigated for providing Gujeokyeok with personal information related to Tzuyang and A's cohabitation before their marriage, which he learned during the lawsuit process.
The trial, which began at 10 a.m., ended around 11:15 p.m. due to lengthy testimonies from several defendants and discussions by lawyers, with the first-instance sentencing date set for the 20th of this month.