The YouTuber '탈덕수용소' (Daldak Rescue Center), which spread false news about IVE's Jang Won-young, has been ordered to pay 50 million won to Starship Entertainment. In response, Starship Entertainment has expressed its position.
Previously, Jang Won-young's agency, Starship Entertainment, declared a war against malicious commenters and cyber wreckers, and has pursued civil and criminal lawsuits against operator A since 2022. A has caused harm by fabricating false news about various stars in addition to Jang Won-young.
Starship Entertainment filed a 100 million won compensation lawsuit against A in November 2022, stating, "Continuous dissemination of false information has caused severe defamation, disrupted our business operations, and inflicted significant pain on both artists and fans."
During the trial process, A argued that they only expressed their opinion and posted the videos for the public interest; however, the court did not accept A's claim.
On the 4th, the Seoul Central District Court's Civil 50 Single (Judge Choi Mi-young) ruled in the first instance of the compensation lawsuit filed by Starship Entertainment against A, the operator of '탈덕수용소' (Daldak Rescue Center), stating, "A shall pay 50 million won to Starship Entertainment," marking a partial victory for the plaintiff.
The court noted that A's act of producing and posting videos has sufficiently resulted in harming the honor and credit of Starship Entertainment to the extent that their business operations were affected. It stated that A is responsible for compensating the non-pecuniary damages suffered by Starship Entertainment. Additionally, regarding the videos posted about Jang Won-young, it pointed out that, "The videos appear to have been edited subjectively or merely extracted from baseless criticism posts about Jang Won-young, which cannot serve as objective evidence, but viewers could be misled into believing that they contain truthful information."
After the ruling, Starship Entertainment stated through its official account, "We have been pursuing legal action against the operator of the YouTube channel '탈덕수용소' (Daldak Rescue Center), which has continuously defamed and harmed our artists, since around November 2022. Alongside civil and criminal legal procedures, we have been using the Discovery process in the United States to identify this operator, and as a result, we have identified their true identity."
The agency expressed, "This marks the first case in Korea where the identity of an anonymous YouTube channel operator has been revealed and brought to court, setting a significant precedent for holding individuals accountable for malicious acts online. We would like to extend our deep gratitude to the fans who have supported us through continuous interest, reports, and provision of materials."
Furthermore, it highlighted, "We are also deeply grateful to the professionals from various cultural and music organizations who contributed to forming a social consensus, our legal representatives who provided counsel and support throughout the lawsuit process, the judges who demonstrated the firmness of the law by sentencing A to two years in prison and recovering over 200 million won in illicit profits on January 15, and the other victims who have shown their will to take action alongside us in the civil and criminal lawsuits." In addition, the agency expressed profound respect and gratitude to the investigative agencies that prosecuted the operator through fair and rigorous investigations and the courts in Korea and the United States that contributed to realizing justice.
Additionally, Starship explained, "On June 4, 2025, the court also ruled in our separately filed damage compensation lawsuit for illegal acts, ordering '탈덕수용소' (Daldak Rescue Center) to pay 50 million won in compensation. We believe that this ruling reflects our commitment to holding '탈덕수용소' accountable for any civil and criminal liabilities related to our artists. Ultimately, we evaluate that the operator must bear legal responsibilities that exceed the economic gains obtained through their illegal activities."
Finally, it emphasized, "Through this incident, we believe we have sent a strong warning to those so-called 'cyber wreckers' who profit from defaming and slandering others' reputations. We firmly state that we will continuously monitor and strictly hold accountable any illegal acts that defame our artists' honor, invade their privacy, or insult their character."
Meanwhile, A has been indicted for producing YouTube videos defaming seven celebrities, including IVE's Jang Won-young, from October 2021 to June 2023, on charges of defamation and insult under the Information and Communications Network Act. They were sentenced to two years in prison with a three-year probation in the first trial, and the appeal is ongoing. Separately, the court also ruled that A should pay 50 million won to Jang Won-young in a damage compensation lawsuit filed against them.
Additionally, A was fined 10 million won for defaming Kang Daniel and received a 30 million won ruling in the damage compensation lawsuit. Furthermore, they were ordered to pay 76 million won in damages concerning BTS members V and Jungkook.
[Photo] OSEN DB
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