According to the industry and investigative authorities on the 22nd, the Seoul Suseo Police Department has recently transferred individual A, who was associated with Fastview, to the prosecutors on charges of defamation and insult under the Information and Communications Network Act. This is a direct result of an investigation that began when HYBE filed a complaint last year, believing that videos posted on the YouTube channels "People Box" and "Da Issue" maliciously defamed the company and its artists.

HYBE has claimed that the content in question is part of a deliberate attempt to undermine specific corporations and artists as part of a "reverse viral" campaign. In fact, several of the controversial videos contained unverified sensational claims, such as a member of ILLIT mentioning specific foods to defame a member of New Jeans, as well as false allegations suggesting that HYBE and its artists, including LE SSERAFIM and ILLIT, were involved with specific religions, distorting public opinion.

The transfer of Fastview's former employee to the prosecutors with a recommendation for indictment appears to indicate that the police deemed the allegations against Fastview to be substantial.

패스트뷰의 전 직원이 검찰에 기소의견으로 송치된 것은 경찰이 패스트뷰 측의 범죄 혐의가 상당하다고 판단한 것으로 보인다.

Among these, the most notable point in this case is whether individual A planned and executed these defamatory videos independently. Fastview is a small company established in 2015 that produces and distributes content, operating numerous YouTube channels and online platforms, including "People Box," "Da Issue," "DiFast," "Skwang," "New Auto Post," and "Meme Media."

If individual A's offenses were carried out under company orders or tacit approval, it cannot be ruled out that these were not just an individual's transgressions but an organizationally targeted attempt to create "defamatory content" against specific artists. There is growing interest in the industry over whether prosecutors will clarify through further investigation whether A executed the production of such videos independently or, if following company orders, what reasons led to the creation of defamatory content against specific artists.

The recent transfer of individual A to prosecutors is an important outcome of HYBE's relentless legal actions against malicious content online. HYBE and its label subsidiaries Belift Lab and Source Music have been pressuring Fastview through both criminal complaints and civil lawsuits.

Last August, they filed a civil lawsuit seeking 280 million won in damages against a total of seven channels, including the YouTube channels operated by Fastview. In September of the same year, they even applied for a subpoena in the U.S. Northern District Court of California to confirm the identity of the YouTube channel operators, thoroughly pursuing legal procedures without regard to domestic or international boundaries.

With this transfer to prosecutors, HYBE's request for an investigation into the "reverse viral" content has shown clear progress, raising expectations that future prosecution investigations will reveal any organizational involvement and serve as a precedent for strong sanctions against the production and distribution of malicious content online.

[OSEN]