Lawyer ordered to pay YouTuber Tzuyang 73.1 million won over blackmail and leaks
A Seoul court awarded YouTuber Tzuyang damages after finding a lawyer extorted her, leaked private information and spread false claims that hurt her reputation and income.
Mukbang YouTuber Tzuyang
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A lawyer who blackmailed mukbang (eating show) YouTuber Tzuyang has been ordered to pay her a total of 73.1 million won ($47,700) in damages, according to legal sources on Sunday.
The Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of Tzuyang, whose legal name is Park Jeong-won, in a civil damages suit she filed against the lawyer surnamed Choi, on May 21. A countersuit filed by Choi was dismissed.
Choi leaked personal information about Tzuyang's past to YouTubers, including GooJeYeok, who has been sentenced to one year and six months in prison, suspended for two years, on charges that include extorting 23 million won from Tzuyang through blackmail. That conviction was upheld by the Supreme Court in March.
Tzuyang, who has over 13 million subscribers to her YouTube channel, filed the civil suit against the lawyer in September 2024, alleging that Choi had leaked her personal information and spread false claims about her and demanding the money he had extorted from her.
The court ordered Choi to pay a total of 73.1 million won, comprising the 23.1 million won extorted through blackmail, 30 million won in damages for lost YouTube revenue and 20 million won in personal injury compensation.
On the leak of personal information to other YouTubers — which included allegations of tax evasion — the court said the data "was closely tied to her private life and could be exploited for secondary crimes," adding that "given that all the recipients were YouTubers, the likelihood of it spreading and going viral was very high." The court found that "it is reasonable to conclude that real psychological harm was caused by the defendant's leak of personal information."
Choi argued that reporting the tax-evasion allegations was a legitimate act in the public interest, but the court rejected that claim.
The court also found Choi liable for spreading false information about Tzuyang's late former boyfriend, ruling that the lawyer posted an altered version of the boyfriend's suicide note in a way that implied she bore responsibility for his death.
"The leak of personal information and the spread of false claims significantly damaged the plaintiff's social reputation and positive public image," the court said, finding "a substantial causal link between the defendant's unlawful conduct and the loss of YouTube revenue."
BY HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
