IVE’s Wonyoung wins lawsuit against controversial YouTuber Sojang

South Korean singer Jang Wonyoung of K-pop girl group IVE has reportedly won a lawsuit against controversial YouTuber Sojang.

• READ MORE: IVE: “We’re going to shine at the top, we belong at the top”

Today (January 17), Wonyoung’s agency Starship Entertainment released an statement with an update on its lawsuit against South Korean YouTuber Sojang (known only as Mr Park, per Law Times) over his alleged circulation of false information about the company’s artists.

“Through the continuous circulation of false information, Sojang committed grave defamation, and they not only hindered with the agency’s business but also caused serious pain to artists and fans,” the agency said, as translated by Soompi. Starship also shared that the criminal charges filed against Sojang were recently forwarded from the police to the prosecution, and that legal proceedings concerning that matter were ongoing.

Additionally, two civil lawsuits have been filed against the YouTuber for defamation, one by Starship Entertainment and one by Jang Wonyoung herself. The former is scheduled to be tried later this month. “The [lawsuit] artist Jang Wonyoung herself raised was not responded to by the other party, so the case was won through deemed confession,” the agency said of the latter case.

According to Law Times, the Seoul Central District Court had ruled in favour of the singer on December 21, and ordered ₩100million (around £59,000) to be paid to Jang for damages.

The agency also shared that it is constantly using its own monitoring system to protect the rights of its artists, their reputations and privacy. It also urged fans to continue reporting such issues to them, as they have been “of great assistance” to its legal proceedings.

Sojang was notorious for his controversial celebrity-related content on his now-deleted YouTube channel Taldeok Camp. In September 2022, the channel uploaded a video targeting Jang, claiming that she had forced a rumoured seventh member of IVE out of the group before their debut. The channel had also previously uploaded other videos with unsubstantiated allegations against the singer.

It was also in September 2022 that Starship Entertainment announced plans to take strong legal action against the spread of malicious information, though it did not specify the target of its lawsuit at the time.