Controversial YouTuber Sojang Refuses To Pay Damages To IVE’s Wonyoung

The ongoing legal battle between IVE member Wonyoung and the infamous YouTuber, known widely by their channel name “Sojang,” has seen a new development recently.

In October 2024, Wonyoung and her agency, Starship Entertainment, sued Park, the YouTuber behind Sojang, on charges of defamation and insult, claiming damages. They partially won the lawsuit in January 2024, and the court ordered the YouTuber to pay ₩100 million KRW (about $75,200 USD) to the plaintiff.

However, according to reports on February 12, KST, Park appealed the decision on January 17 and filed for a stay of execution of the ruling. The YouTuber had to make a deposit of ₩100 million KRW (about $75,200 USD) to attain this stay order from the court, which will effectively prevent any forced measures of execution, including search and seizures.

Additionally, Park has also addressed the topic of their apology letter that surfaced online last year. In June 2023, a long apology letter from “Sojang” was uploaded on the popular community site Nate Pann, where they apologized to celebrities, in particular to BTS’s V and Wonyoung, and admitted to fabricating a lot of the accusations and rumors, included in their content.

I’m so so sorry to the idols and actors that appeared in my videos. Whether I was crazed about the money or the views, I was crazed either way. When BTS’s V said that he knew about my channel, I acted up to gain attention and I targeted him even more. I’m sorry to him for that. I’m also sorry for editing photos and videos that I took from the internet, and using them to create exaggerated lies, giving psychological pain to Jang Wonyoung. Apart from these two, I’m also sorry to the other people who received psychological pain through my videos of lies and malicious rumors. I’m also sorry to the fans. I won’t do such things again.

— Sojang

However, Park recently denied writing any such apology letter. They also claimed that the “news” they reported about Wounyoung was false and that it didn’t count as defamation since it was uploaded for the public interest. Park also contested the court’s ruling, saying that even in a case of defamation, the compensation ordered was too high.

With Park’s appeal, the legal fight between the two parties has inevitably been elongated further. Meanwhile, Wonyoung’s lawyer spoke to the media recently, detailing the lengths they went to catch Park. You can read more about it here.