YouTuber Gu Jeyuk (Lee June-hee) was sentenced to one year in prison on appeal in a defamation case involving former Navy lieutenant Rhee Geun and other internet broadcasters.
Gu earlier stood trial on charges of extorting tens of millions of won by threatening YouTuber Tzuyang, and in March the Supreme Court finalized a three-year prison sentence, which Gu is now serving.
On the 25th, the 7th Criminal Division of the Suwon District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Miju) sentenced Lee, who was indicted on charges including violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, to one year in prison and a fine of 10 million won.
The sentence was reduced compared with the first-instance sentence of two years in prison and a fine of 15 million won. The court said, "The defendant admits to the crimes, and we took into account that a separate case has resulted in a finalized prison term."
From 2022 to 2024, Lee posted videos on a YouTube channel Lee operated that defamed several internet broadcasters, including the former lieutenant.
The videos were found to contain statements such as "Mr. A is like Cho Doo-soon," and "Broadcaster Mr. B used drugs with ardent fans and engaged in a group orgy."
For these actions, Lee was indicted by prosecutors in Nov. 2024 on charges including defamation, obstruction of business, and insult.