Kim Se-eui indicted on defamation charges; 'Hope' author So Jae-won says 'don't beg for forgiveness'

Kim Se-eui, head of the YouTube channel Garosero Research Institute, has been indicted on defamation charges involving So Jae-won, the author behind the film "Hope." So said Kim's false broadcasts destroyed the author's career and told Kim not to beg for forgiveness.

So posted a lengthy message on SNS Tuesday, along with a screenshot of a KakaoTalk notification. The screenshot showed a prosecution case-disposition notice stating that the criminal case against suspect Kim Se-eui had been referred to formal trial on Nov. 3 — a disposition known as "gupongpan," in which prosecutors send a suspect to a full court proceeding.

"The defamation charges against Kim Se-eui for spreading false facts about me have been referred to trial, but I felt no joy," So said. "If it weren't for Kim Se-eui, the filthy false rumor calling me a male prostitute would never have spread."

So described the author's identity as one who speaks for the vulnerable, saying, "I lived more uprightly than anyone to uphold that description, and I spent each day listening to and protecting the voices of the weak from the lowest places."

So said Kim's broadcasts had ultimately destroyed the author's career as a writer.

So said the family suffered in the aftermath of the broadcasts. "The countless works I had written were denied, and even my children were branded as the offspring of a male prostitute," So said. "My children and I ultimately chose to move. That is to say, we fled from the lies."

Recalling the state of mind at the time, So said, "All I could think was that I had to at least save the children."

So closed with a direct message to Kim: "I can never forgive him for trampling my reputation so mercilessly. Don't beg for forgiveness. Keep being shameless."

Meanwhile, So filed a defamation complaint against Kim in February last year, alleging that Kim had made claims portraying So as a sex worker at an entertainment establishment. So said in June that the case had resulted in a full referral to prosecutors, with not a single count dropped.