Hanbok master who dressed BTS and IU cleared of label-switching allegations

Park Sul-nyeo, a master hanbok ("traditional Korean dress") designer known for dressing celebrities including BTS, IU and Kim Yeon-a, has been cleared of allegations that she swapped clothing labels on ready-made garments to pass them off as her own work. A Seoul court ruled the claims were false and ordered the person who made them — identified only as A — to pay Park 30 million won ($19,400) in damages.

Judge Park Hye-seong of the Seoul Central District Court issued the ruling on May 28 in a civil damages suit Park filed against A. The court set damages at 30 million won, saying it would take "considerable time and effort" to restore Park's reputation after the harm A's conduct caused.

A began alleging in June 2023 that Park had swapped clothing labels, evaded taxes and violated minimum wage laws — claiming Park bought ready-made hanbok at markets and replaced the labels with her own. A went beyond Park's hanbok store, visiting other hanbok shops in the area and telling merchants that tips about Park were being collected. The same claims were repeated online, including on YouTube.

The case drew national attention in August 2023 when A appeared on a television current-affairs program and repeated the allegations. Park also appeared on the broadcast and pleaded her innocence. "I have absolutely never done such a thing," Park said on the program. "I have lived by my pride alone, and I find myself in tears at dawn and in the evening."

The production team reported that A's claims lacked supporting evidence. A statement analyst interviewed on the program said there was "nothing but suspicion, with no basis whatsoever," adding that the sources A cited were "almost entirely hearsay with no substance."

Park filed the civil damages suit against A in June 2024. The judiciary's determination that the allegations were false came roughly two years later.

The court concluded that A "defamed Park by stating false facts for the purpose of disparagement, while at the same time obstructing the operation of Park's hanbok store," and was therefore liable for damages.

The ruling cited the fact that A had already been convicted and fined 5 million won on each of two separate counts in first-instance criminal proceedings. The criminal court also found all of the allegations — label-switching, tax evasion and minimum wage violations — to be false and returned a guilty verdict against A.

According to facts established by the court, the conflict between Park and A dates back about two decades to 2003, when A was a tenant in the building that housed Park's hanbok shop. A dispute arose when A refused to vacate after the lease was terminated. Park pursued an eviction lawsuit, but A refused to leave and demanded 1.3 billion won.

The court observed that A "appears to have written posts disparaging Park some 20 years later, driven by grievances that arose during that earlier dispute."

The court added that Park, "as a hanbok designer whose reputation and public image are of considerable importance, is a widely known public figure, and appears to have suffered mental anguish for a significant period out of fear that A's conduct would damage her public image."

The court also noted that A "appears to have continued raising the allegations even while standing trial on related criminal charges," and that restoring the damage to Park's image would require "considerable time and effort" — factors that led it to set compensation at 30 million won.

The ruling is not yet final. A filed an appeal on June 10, and the case will proceed to a second-instance trial.

A continues to post videos on YouTube calling on Park to "stop the nationwide fraud," keeping the allegations alive even after the court's decision.