Kim Hee-young wins again against YouTuber who spread false claims about her

Kim Hee-young, a director of the TNC Foundation and partner of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, has won a second civil defamation case against a YouTuber who spread false information about her. The latest ruling orders 10 million won ($7,350) in damages and follows an April ruling in a separate case in which another YouTuber was ordered to pay her 20 million won.

According to legal sources, Judge Park Dae-jun of the Seoul Western District Court's Civil Division 9 ruled partly in Kim's favor on Sept. 8 in her damages suit against a YouTuber identified only as A. Kim had sought about 30 million won in damages; the court awarded 10 million won.

A was found to have posted false claims about Kim on a YouTube channel around June 2024. The content included allegations that Kim had fabricated her academic credentials and staged acts of charity, as well as defamatory claims about the private lives of Kim and her mother, including suggestions of extramarital relationships.

Kim filed the lawsuit against A in July 2024.

During the trial, A's side argued the videos were posted "to introduce controversies on matters of public interest" and that there was "no intent to damage her reputation."

The court rejected that defense.

The court said A "failed to submit any supporting evidence for the content of the videos" and "did not conduct any investigation to verify the specific facts." It added that A "used highly definitive language rather than merely raising suspicions or speculation," making it "difficult to conclude there was no intent to damage her reputation."

In setting damages at 10 million won, the court said it had considered "all circumstances, including the content and tone of the videos, their reach, the degree of harm and distress suffered by Kim, and the situation following their posting."

The ruling has not yet been finalized, as the deadline to appeal the first-instance decision has not passed.

A also faces criminal liability in connection with the case. A summary order imposing a fine of 5 million won was finalized in May.

Meanwhile, in April the court ordered a different YouTuber who had spread similarly false claims to pay Kim 20 million won in damages. In that ruling, the court said that "defamatory acts committed online spread rapidly to an unspecified number of people" and "serve as a foundation for further unlawful conduct."