IVE’s Wonyoung’s lawsuit victories against Sojang opens the door for Big Hit and KQ to follow suit

IVE member Wonyoung recently won a judgement against YouTuber Sojang, and the legal proceedings of that case and Starship Entertainment‘s case still continue. While her lawsuit may have been a win for her and her company, it’s also having an impact far beyond just them, as it managed to expose Sojang’s identity and allows for Big Hit Music and KQ Entertainment to also pursue legal action.

Back in 2021, Big Hit sought to file a defamation suit against Sojang, and in 2022 KQ followed suit. However, because Sojang’s identity was unknown, nothing was able to be done. However, with Wonyoung and Starship’s suit confirming her identity through legal channels, other agencies are now able to continue with their lawsuits as well, opening up much bigger problems for Sojang.

Also, one of the misconceptions about this case that I’ve seen circulating is that Korean companies are successfully suing Sojang in American courts and under American law. Not so, but their real victory was being able to convince Google through a request to the California District Court that revealing Sojang’s identity was necessary. That thus opens the door to not only getting to Sojang, but also others who try to take advantage of anonymously hiding behind conglomerates like Google and/or being overseas to avoid lawsuits.

It’s premature to say this could end up bringing down or preventing more channels like Sojang, but it certainly could trend that way if the legal victories continue.

——

Also, with regards to Sojang, apparently she was dedicated enough to hating on Wonyoung that she hired people to write shitty comments about her.

On January 18, JTBC’s ‘Crime Chief’ revealed information showing that Sojang allegedly hired part-time workers to write malicious comments on YouTube videos.
According to ‘Crime Chief,’ Sojang uploaded a job position for part-timers to leave detailed malicious comments criticizing Jang Won Young, such as her facial expressions on YouTube videos. The job listing claimed Sojang would pay individuals 50 KRW (0.04 USD) per short comment and 100 KRW (0.08 USD) for every long comment.

You know, the bar for defamation in America is thankfully very high, but remarkably I think Sojang would’ve lost in America as well since this shows actual malice.