YouTuber Gu Je Yeok sentenced to three years in prison for blackmailing mukbang YouTuber Tzuyang

The court has sentenced and taken into custody YouTuber 'Gu Je Yeok' and lawyer 'Choi,' who were put on trial for blackmailing and extorting money from famous mukbang YouTuber Tzuyang (real name Park Jung Won), who has over 10 million subscribers.

On February 20, Judge Park Yi Rang of the Suwon District Court's Criminal Division 14 held a sentencing hearing for five individuals, including YouTuber Gu Je Yeok (real name Lee Jun Hee), lawyer Choi, YouTuber Jujak Gambyeolsa" (Jeon Guk Jin), YouTuber Caracula (Lee Se Wook), and "Crocodile" (Choi Il Hwan), who were charged with blackmail and other offenses.

Judge Park sentenced Gu Je Yeok to three years in prison and lawyer Choi to two years. Additionally, Jujak Gambyeolsa received a one-year prison sentence suspended for three years along with 160 hours of community service, Caracula was sentenced to one year in prison suspended for three years with 240 hours of community service, and Crocodile was fined 5 million KRW (~3,487 USD).

Judge Park stated, "The defendants do not seem to have fully recognized the illegality of leaking private information," adding, "In particular, defendant Gujeok (Lee Jun Hee) has shown no remorse even up until this trial, which is an unfavorable factor in sentencing."

The judge also pointed out that "Defendant Choi, as a lawyer and journalist, is not a public official but carries out public duties, meaning he should have upheld professional ethics. However, he disclosed Tzuyang's personal information, which was obtained during legal proceedings."

Gu Je Yeok was indicted and taken into custody for extorting 55 million KRW (~38,366 USD) from Tzuyang in October 2021 by threatening to upload a video claiming, "You are harassing small business owners by filing excessive lawsuits."

Prosecutors determined that Jujak Gambyeolsa, Crocodile, and Caracula were also involved in Gu Je Yeok’s crimes and indicted them together. Investigations revealed that they shared information about Tzuyang in a KakaoTalk group chat and communicated by phone.

Lawyer Choi was accused of blackmailing Tzuyang by threatening to expose her past, including alleged experience in entertainment establishments, and extorting approximately 23 million KRW (~16,047 USD) under the guise of providing media response consulting. He was also reported to have supplied allegations of Tzuyang’s tax evasion to the YouTube channel Garo Sero Research Institute.

Furthermore, after it was reported that Choi had provided Tzuyang’s information to Gu Je Yeok, he allegedly fabricated and spread a fake will, making it seem as though the disclosure was done under the instructions of Tzuyang’s late ex-boyfriend and former agency CEO, 'A' (deceased).

Previously, the prosecution had sought a four-year prison sentence for Gu Je Yeok and a five-year sentence for lawyer Choi. They had also requested a three-year sentence for Jujak Gambyeolsa, a two-year sentence for Caracula, and a one-year sentence for Crocodile.