YouTube channel made over W100m spreading lies about actor Kim Soo-hyun, 'PD Notebook' reveals

A YouTube channel that spread false allegations against actor Kim Soo-hyun raked in more than 100 million won ($67,200) in viewer donations through fabricated broadcasts, a television investigation has found.

The MBC program "PD Notebook" aired Tuesday an episode titled "The Hunter and the Prey — Gaseyon's Dangerous Survival Strategy," exposing how Garosero Yeonguso — known by its abbreviation Gaseyon — amassed massive view counts, donations and advertising revenue over eight years by targeting figures in politics, entertainment and business.

Gaseyon head Kim Se-eui had claimed that Kim Soo-hyun dated the late Kim Sae-ron while she was a minor, and that debt pressure had contributed to her death. He later released an audio recording purportedly made during her lifetime and alleged that a tipster had been physically attacked.

Kim Soo-hyun's side denied the claims, saying he and Kim Sae-ron had briefly dated only after she came of age and that Gaseyon's allegations were false.

YouTuber Eun Hyeon-jang, known by the handle "God of Business," appeared on the program and said he had filed a criminal complaint against Kim Se-eui on charges of spreading false information and defamation. He said his broadcasting career suffered serious damage after Gaseyon accused him of involvement in share price manipulation and cryptocurrency fraud.

"Once Gaseyon's attacks began, there was no way to properly defend myself," he said. "I ended up leaving a program I had been appearing on."

Eun said he has been acquiring a stake in Gaseyon and personally tallied the donations received from broadcasts related to Kim Soo-hyun.

His count showed that YouTube donations alone from those broadcasts reached approximately 118 million won. With 146 advertisements aired during the broadcasts, actual revenue is estimated to be considerably higher.

"While Gaseyon was covering allegations related to Kim Soo-hyun, donation revenue reached around 118 million won — and the total would be even larger when advertising revenue is included," the program said, adding that Gaseyon's YouTube subscriber count surpassed 1 million during that period.

Media critic Jeon Ji-yun said Gaseyon had built a model of stigmatizing specific individuals, inciting collective public shaming and profiting enormously in the process, adding that it had offered other so-called cyber wreckers a blueprint for a successful business.