- The Seoul Western District Court increased V and Jungkook's damages to ₩86 million in their defamation case against a Youtube channel.
- The broader verdict resulted in a suspended prison term for the operator alongside a ₩210 million forfeiture penalty.
- The judgement altogether amplifies South Korea's nation-wide crackdown on profit-driven "cyber-wrecker" channels.
BTS members V and Jungkook won an increased damages award in their defamation case against the operator of Taldeoksooyongso, a YouTube channel widely known by the alias Sojang. The Seoul Western District Court's Civil Appeals Division ordered the channel's operator to pay KRW 86 million ($65,000) after finding that the lower court's original award undervalued the harm done to the artists.
Big Hit Music, the label behind BTS, filed the lawsuit in 2024, seeking roughly KRW 90 million for what it described as a sustained smear campaign. In February 2025, the court initially granted KRW 76 million — KRW 51 million to Big Hit Music, KRW 10 million to V, and KRW 15 million to Jungkook. A mediation attempt failed in July 2025. On January 23, 2026, the appellate division raised V and Jungkook's individual payouts by KRW 5 million each, bringing the total to KRW 86 million including interest and fees.
BTS V and Jungkook defamation case: Sojang targeted seven K-pop artists
The increased award put the court's position in plain terms: operators who profit from online harassment face real financial consequences. Between 2021 and 2023, according to Korea JoongAng Daily, the channel published nearly 23 videos targeting at least seven artists with gossip and fabricated claims. Jang Won-young of IVE, Kang Daniel (formerly of Wanna One), Suho of EXO, and members of aespa all filed separate suits against the channel.
Park, identified as the channel's operator, also faced criminal prosecution in a separate case brought by IVE's Jang Won-young and Starship Entertainment. The Incheon District Court sentenced her to two years in prison, suspended for three years, along with a KRW 210 million (about $146,000) forfeiture order and 120 hours of community service. The punishment was imposed under South Korea's Information and Communications Network Act. The Supreme Court upheld the sentence on January 29, 2026, making it final. Prosecutors said monetized videos on the channel earned roughly KRW 250 million before it was terminated.
South Korea's legal crackdown on cyber-wrecker YouTube channels
The civil and criminal rulings against Sojang are part of a broader judicial effort to dismantle South Korea's "cyber-wrecker" economy. Channels such as Enterpick, Da Issue, and Peoplebox have generated revenue through ad sales and premium memberships by publishing speculative and defamatory content about K-pop idols and actors.
HYBE, BTS's parent company, filed eight lawsuits against seven such channels at the Seoul Western District Court in 2024, and sought a U.S. federal court order to compel Google to unmask the channels' operators. Separately, mukbang YouTuber Tzuyang filed charges against Kim Se-ui, head of the channel Hoverlab, on allegations of stalking and threats; that case is under reinvestigation. Taken together, these cases have begun to erode the financial logic of running defamation-driven channels. Courts are imposing damages and forfeitures that turn what was once a low-risk, high-reward operation into a serious legal liability.
