A Seoul court has ruled that the attorney, identified only by his surname Choi, who was previously convicted of extorting YouTuber Tzuyang, must pay her approximately $53,000 (73 million won) in damages.
According to a report published by The Korea Herald on June 21, Judge Kim Yu Sung of the Seoul Central District Court's Civil Division 90 (single judge) ruled in favor of Tzuyang, a YouTuber with 13 million subscribers, in her damages suit against the attorney on May 21. He had also filed a countersuit against Tzuyang, claiming she damaged his reputation by falsely alleging he had threatened or coerced her, but that countersuit was dismissed.
His conviction in the underlying criminal case was finalized by the Supreme Court in March, with a sentence of one year and six months in prison, suspended for two years.
Per the facts established by the court, he threatened Tzuyang in April 2023, telling her he would expose aspects of her past, and extorted roughly 23 million won from her under the guise of offering media consulting services. He was found guilty on this charge.
He was also found to have provided information to the YouTube channel Garosero Research Institute alleging tax evasion by Tzuyang. Separately, after it was reported that he had also passed information about Tzuyang to YouTuber Gujeyeok, he was found to have fabricated a suicide note purportedly written by Tzuyang's former boyfriend, falsely claiming that the boyfriend had instructed him to release the information.
Tzuyang filed a damages suit against him in September 2024 seeking roughly 150 million won. During the proceedings, his side argued that raising the tax evasion allegations constituted a public-interest disclosure. Regarding the fabricated note, his side argued that Tzuyang had first raised suspicions about him, and that his actions were merely defensive, not an attempt to damage her reputation.
The court largely accepted Tzuyang's arguments, citing his already-finalized criminal conviction as grounds.
The first-instance court stated that, since his act of extortion had already been confirmed as criminal in the related verdict, he was obligated — absent special circumstances — to repay the 23 million won he had obtained through extortion.
The court further found that his conduct could not be considered legally justified, noting that there was no legitimate purpose in disclosing Tzuyang's personal information, and that the information in question could not reasonably be said to be directly related to tax evasion.
The court further found that his claim that he had provided the tax-related information at the request of Tzuyang's late former boyfriend was false, noting that his conduct went beyond merely correcting his own prior allegations and instead included content suggesting Tzuyang bore responsibility for the boyfriend's death — content that damaged her social standing.
The court awarded total damages of 73 million won, combining the 23 million won obtained through extortion, 30 million won accounting for the decline in Tzuyang's YouTube ad revenue, and 20 million won in compensation for emotional distress.
His countersuit against Tzuyang, in which he claimed she had damaged his reputation by falsely alleging he made threats, was dismissed. The court stated that since he had already been criminally convicted of extortion, his claims could not be accepted.
He appealed the ruling on June 9, meaning the decision has not yet been finalized.
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