SK Group chief Chey Tae-won, right, and his partner Kim Hee-young attend the "One Planet, Building Bridges To A Better Future" Gala at Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris on Oct. 14, 2023.GETTY IMAGES
Kim Hee-young, director of the T&C Foundation and partner of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, has won a damages suit against a YouTuber who posted false claims about her.
The Seoul Western District Court ruled partly in favor of Kim on Sept. 8 in a damages suit against the YouTuber.
Kim sought about 30 million won ($22,100) in damages in July 2024. The court ordered the YouTuber to pay 10 million won.
The YouTuber posted a video in June 2024 that claimed Kim had falsified her academic credentials and fabricated charitable acts. The video also included details about Kim and her mother's private lives.
During the trial, the YouTuber argued that the video dealt with matters of public interest and was not intended to defame Kim.
The court rejected that argument, finding instead that the YouTuber had conducted no separate investigation to verify the claims in the video and had failed to submit evidence that supported the allegations.
The court also found that the YouTuber went beyond raising suspicions or speculation and presented the claims as fact. The court therefore rejected the argument that the YouTuber had no intent to defame Kim.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, left, and his estranged wife Roh Soh-yeong attend a hearing at the Seoul High Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on April 16.NEWS1
The court awarded Kim 10 million won in compensation after considering the emotional distress and other harm she suffered.
The YouTuber also received a summary order in May to pay a fine of 5 million won over the same video.
This is not the first time Kim has won damages from a YouTuber. In April, the Seoul Western District Court ordered another YouTuber to pay 20 million won to Kim for posting videos that spread false information about Kim and her mother and attacked Kim’s charitable activities.
Chey initiated divorce proceedings in 2017 with his estranged wife Roh Soh-yeong after admitting two years earlier that he had an extramarital affair with Kim, which resulted in a child. Chey and Roh married in 1988 and have three children together.
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.
