Prosecutors freeze land owned by YouTuber Kim Se-eui to strip W169m in criminal proceeds

Prosecutors who indicted and detained YouTuber Kim Se-eui — head of the Garosero Research Institute channel, who faces charges of spreading false information about actor Kim Soo-hyun's private life — have placed a preservation order on land he owns to strip him of criminal proceeds.

The Criminal Proceeds Recovery Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office said Tuesday it completed a preservation registration on land owned by Kim on Thursday to recover 169.4 million won ($126,000). A preservation order is similar to a civil injunction: it freezes a defendant's assets before a final court ruling to prevent them from concealing or disposing of property acquired through criminal activity.

Earlier, the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul referred Kim's case to prosecutors in June on charges of violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (defamation), violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes (distribution of illegally filmed material), violating the Stalking Crimes Punishment Act, attempted coercion and intimidation. That same month, the Second Division for Investigating Crimes Against Women and Children at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office indicted him in detention.

According to prosecutors, Kim faces charges of broadcasting false videos through his YouTube channel from March through December last year, claiming that the late actor Kim Sae-ron had been in a relationship with actor Kim Soo-hyun since she was a minor.

During the police investigation, a preservation order was sought on about 5 million won in criminal proceeds. The court rejected the application in June, however, ruling that "given the low value of the proceeds relative to the real estate's worth, there is no need for preservation."

The Criminal Proceeds Recovery Division said it had worked with the Second Division for Investigating Crimes Against Women and Children from the detention investigation stage, tracing all donation accounts linked to Kim's YouTube channel, interviewing key witnesses and conducting asset inquiries.

The division confirmed that criminal proceeds from donations tied to the defamation totaled at least 54.4 million won and that proceeds from advertising amounted to at least 115 million won. It then filed for the preservation order, which the court granted.

"Although amendments to relevant laws will make it impossible for prosecutors to conduct witness interviews, account tracing and all other investigations related to criminal proceeds preservation orders like this one starting Oct. 2, we will do our utmost to thoroughly strip criminal proceeds to the very end and eliminate the fundamental incentive for crime," a Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office official said.