IVE's Jang Wonyoung reportedly wins a defamation case against Sojang - YouTuber receives 2 years of suspended imprisonment and 3 years of probation

IVE's Jang Wonyoung has reportedly won the defamation lawsuit against YouTuber Sojang (TalDeok), who allegedly made defamatory videos against the idol. On January 15, 2025, Ms. Park, who was known to operate the YouTube channel named TalDeok Camp and share misinformation about artists, including Jang Wonyoung, was sentenced to two years of suspended imprisonment in the court.

According to YTN, a South Korean media agency, Ms. Park received two years of suspended imprisonment and three years of probation at the Incheon District Court Criminal Division 11, presided over by Judge Kim Saet-byeol.

YouTuber Sojang (reported to be 36 years old, female) was found guilty of violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection for creating defamatory and insulting content.

Notably, a suspended imprisonment is a type of sentence where the guilty do not serve in the prison immediately and are postponed while they are ordered to be on probation. Besides this, Sojang was also ordered to pay a fine of approximately 210 million KRW and to participate in 120 hours of community service.

The court reportedly explained the reason behind the sentence. The statement read:

“Defamation must be punished severely because it causes damage to victims that is difficult to recover from. The defendant repeatedly slandered famous celebrities and uploaded provocative content to his YouTube channel, earning a considerable amount of income, and the nature of the crime is serious.”

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YouTuber Sojang to pay 100 million KRW to Jang Wonyoung after losing first trial in 2024

In January 2024, Jang Wonyoung had reportedly won the first trial of her defamation case against the controversial YouTuber widely known as Sojang (Ms. Park). Sojang made videos about Jang Wonyoung filled with misinformation and content tarnishing her reputation continuously between October 2021 and June 2023.

YouTuber Sojang reportedly made financial profits with the videos she posted on YouTube through advertisements.

According to YTN, the prosecutor's investigation disclosed that Ms. Park has reportedly earned approximately 250 million KRW within two years since June 2021. On January 17, 2024, the court ruled in favor of Jang Wonyoung.

The court ordered Ms. Park to pay 100 million KRW to Jang Wonyoung in full as compensation for the damages.

On January 15, 2025, Judge Kim Saet-byeol sentenced Ms. Park to two years of suspended imprisonment, three years of probation, 210 million KRW, and 250 hours of community service.

According to Chosun, while the judge emphasized the depth of the crime, they also cited other factors that were considered while deciding her sentence.

This included her efforts to reflect on her actions and that she had returned around 60 million KRW to the victims so far.

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Former WannaOne member and now soloist Kang Daniel was also one of the artists mentioned by Ms. Park in her videos. In response, he took legal action against her, which resulted in the court favoring Kang Daniel's side.

On November 27, 2024, the court ordered the YouTuber to pay 30 million KRW as compensation to Kang Daniel. However, Kang Daniel appealed to the court against the sentence, as the Electric Shock singer’s legal team believed the ruling was lenient.

The YouTuber had also appealed to the court for leniency.

On January 3, Star News reported that the PARANOIA singer's legal case was referred to mediation, which allows the two parties to resolve the case through mutual discussion.

Notably, other K-pop artists like SM Entertainment artists aespa and EXO's Suho, BTS’ V and Jungkook, ATEEZ, and more have filed lawsuits against the YouTuber.