Starship Partially Wins in First Trial Against “Taldeok Acceptance Center”…Court Considers “False Video, Social Impact”
YouTuber Park, the operator of “Taldeok Acceptance Center,” who was accused of spreading false information through his YouTube channel, damaging the reputation of celebrities and their agencies, has receIVEd a partial defeat in the civil lawsuit against Starship Entertainment.
On June 4, the Seoul Central District Court ruled that Park must compensate Starship with 50 million Korean won, showing support for the agency.
“Taldeok Acceptance Center” is a YouTube channel well-known for handling entertainment industry rumors.
Park had been producing and posting videos on the channel claiming that Starship Entertainment engaged in chart manipulation and using insulting language towards IVE member Jang Wonyoung. The channel is currently closed.
Both the agency and Jang Wonyoung’s side took civil and criminal actions against the repeated spread of false information.
In this first trial ruling, the court determined that Park’s actions were not merely expressing personal opinions but spreading false information disguised as facts.
The court stated, “The subtitles, narration, and word choices used by Park revealed contemptuous emotions, and the content related to Jang Wonyoung’s nationality and debut as a trainee appeared to be false.”
Park argued that the video content was an expression for the public interest, but the court judged that the video could be perceIVEd as facts by the general public, and there was strong evidence that the defendant intended it.
As a result, Starship acknowledged partial responsibility for the non-monetary damages suffered.
The court explained that in calculating the compensation amount, it took into account Starship’s status in the industry, IVE’s influence, the exposure scale of the video, and the social impact of the YouTube channel.
Some of the videos operated by Park had high views, almost reaching 1 million, and gained significant social attention as a cyber leaker.
Park had previously been ordered to pay 50 million won in damages to Jang Wonyoung personally, thus bearing compensation responsibilities from Starship and affiliated artists.
Amid increasing legal disputes over false information in the entertainment industry, this ruling is evaluated as a warning against indiscriminate defamation and spreading false information towards celebrities.
Park has a history of receiving unfavorable judgments in several defamation lawsuits.
He had also receIVEd fines and compensation judgments for rumor videos related to Kang Daniel, BTS V, and Jungkook, with the total compensation exceeding 100 million Korean won.
In an era where content production has become easier, “leakage content” that induces views with provocatIVE subjects is also facing increasing social responsibilities.
This ruling serves as a significant decision that reminds of the influence of YouTube content on the public sphere and puts a legal restraint on indiscriminate exposure content towards the entertainment industry.