BTS Members Achieve Significant Legal Victory
BTS members V and Jungkook have scored a partial legal win in their long-running lawsuit.
On January 23, the Seoul Western District Court Appeals Division ruled in favor of V and Jungkook. The defendant, Park, who ran the controversial YouTube channel Sojang, was ordered to pay ₩86 million KRW (about $59,500 USD) in damages.
The case stemmed from Park posting defamatory videos targeting the BTS idols. The initial February ruling had Park paying ₩51 million KRW to BIGHIT MUSIC, ₩10 million to V, and ₩15 million to Jungkook. That totaled about ₩76 million KRW (around $52,600 USD) – less than the ₩90 million KRW the plaintiffs sought.
The appeals court added ₩5 million KRW (about $3,460 USD) to both V and Jungkook’s damages, raising the total to ₩86 million KRW.
Park (Sojang) wasn’t just ordered to pay damages. She got a two-year prison sentence with three years’ probation for defaming multiple celebrities, plus a ₩210 million KRW (about $146,000 USD) fine and 120 hours of community service.
The legal battle is far from over, but V and Jungkook have achieved a clear win this round in protecting their reputation.