A court has ruled that an entertainment media reporter who reported allegations about the private life of former The Boyz member Ju Haknyeon must pay him ₩200 million KRW (about $150,000 USD) in damages.
The Civil Division 25 of the Seoul Central District Court issued a partial ruling in favor of Ju Haknyeon on October 23rd, ordering reporter A to pay Ju ₩200 million KRW (about $150,000 USD) in a damages lawsuit.
In June last year, reporter A published an article claiming that Ju Haknyeon engaged in prostitution with Asuka Kirara, a former Japanese adult video actress, in Tokyo. Ju strongly denied the allegations, but his then agency, One Hundred, announced his withdrawal from the group and termination of his exclusive contract, citing a breach of trust due to personal life issues.
Subsequently, Ju filed a damages lawsuit seeking ₩1.00 billion KRW (about $750,000 USD) against reporter A, arguing that the report was false. The court judged that both the claim that Ju was involved in prostitution and the reports suggesting he had admitted to it were false.
The court commented, “Assuming prostitution based solely on the reported confirmations made during the investigation before the article was written is an excessive leap in logic,” adding, “Based on what A claimed to have confirmed, it is difficult to conclude that Mr. Ju engaged in prostitution.”
Furthermore, it ruled that the evidence submitted by A did not convincingly establish that the reported content was true.
The court concluded, “Reporter A defamed Mr. Ju by including false information in the article, causing him significant mental distress,” and set damages at ₩200 million KRW (about $150,000 USD).
Separately, reporter A is currently facing criminal charges for defamation under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection related to this prostitution allegation report; he was indicted without detention in May and is undergoing trial.
At the first criminal hearing, reporter A admitted to publishing the article itself but denied intent to spread false information, defamation, and malicious intent, claiming innocence. He also asserted that he directly confirmed the facts with Cha Ga Won, chairman of One Hundred Label, Ju’s former agency.