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On September 11, 2024, Kang Daniel won the first court hearing against YouTuber Sojang (Taldeok Camp) for spreading malicious and derogatory information about the South Korean musician. The musician's label, ARA stated that they initially filed the lawsuit in 2022, and after 2 years of persistence, they won the first hearing.
Seoul Central District Court penalized Sojang with a 10 million won ($7,465.25) fine. Korea Economic Daily reported that the fine was three times more than the prosecutors demanded.
"Our artist and law firm Liu first filed a criminal complaint in July 2022 against Taldeoksuyongso for spreading groundless, false facts and malicious rumors and causing serious defamation, and won the first trial today. It may be considered a natural result, but the two years it took until the first trial was an indescribable pain for the artist and fans," ARA stated.
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ARA (Artistic Round Alliance) continued that they were determined to file another lawsuit against YouTubers for defamation, with 100 million won ($74,653.65) in damages. The statement continued,
"The court judged this case so severely that it sentenced him to a fine of 10 million won, which is three times more than the prosecution's demand. Regardless of whether the shameless defendant appeals, we will file a civil lawsuit for 100 million won separately from the criminal procedure."
YouTuber Sojang gets sued by several K-pop artists such as Kang Daniel, BTS' V & Jungkook, and more
Reportedly, YouTuber Sojang had been posting disparaging information on the internet under the handle "Take Off the Fandom".
The court declared that YouTuber Sojang (Park), used YouTube to publish provocative and suggestive videos about well-known celebrities in an effort to make money. Meanwhile, the YouTuber claimed that the videos were made for public good.
However, the 18th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court stated that the name of the YouTube channel means "to stop being an enthusiastic fan" of someone and said,
"It is necessary to punish him severely as it can cause irreparable damage to the celebrities and their agencies. The name of his YouTube channel includes the word '탈덕,' which means to stop being an enthusiastic fan of a certain field or person. This alone shows that this is a channel that releases negative content in order to induce existing fans to leave."
Reportedly, YouTuber Sojang earned over 250 million won (about $183,000) between 2022 and 2024 by creating videos, defaming several K-pop idols like BTS' V & Jungkook, IVE's Wooyoung, Kang Daniel, and more. The BTS stars sued the YouTuber in May 2024 for 90 million won ($67,180.72).
Before that, IVE's Wooyoung sued the YouTuber and won the defamation lawsuit, where Sojang had to pay the idol 100 million won ($74,653.65) plus interest calculated at an annual rate of 12% for damages for Wooyoung's legal fees.
On August 17, 2022, ATEEZ from KQ Entertainment announced filing a lawsuit against the YouTuber for spreading malicious content against the group.
The YouTuber has also released defamatory videos earlier against NMIXX‘s Sullyoon, BTS‘s RM, Gyeongsang Creature actress Han So-hee, Red Velvet, IVE, NCT‘s Jisung, and aespa. Meanwhile, EXO's Suho and aespa have already filed a lawsuit against YouTuber Sojang on September 4, 2024.
