HYBE, Belift Lab, and Source Music have scored a partial victory in their damages lawsuit against a so-called “cyber wrecker” channel for creating false and slanderous content about their artists.
According to legal sources on the 8th, the Seoul Western District Court recently ruled partially in favor of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed by HYBE, Belift Lab, and Source Music against the operator of the YouTube channel ‘Anything’.
Since 2024, HYBE has been engaged in a legal battle, filing damages lawsuits totaling 280 million won against seven YouTube channel operators who repeatedly posted false and slanderous content about the company and its artists.
One of these operators, ‘Anything’, reportedly uploaded about 30 videos with titles like “ILLIT Controversy” and “HYBE’s Bullying of NewJeans Hanni” over a six-month period following the conflict between HYBE and Min Hee-jin in April 2024. HYBE took legal action, stating that the content damaged the reputation and credibility of the artists and the company.
Back in February, the court ruled that the defendant’s act of producing and posting these videos damaged the reputation and credit of the plaintiffs. Consequently, the operator of ‘Anything’ was ordered to pay 5 million won each to HYBE, Belift Lab, and Source Music, totaling 15 million won. This amount was calculated by considering the content of the videos, the frequency of posts, the number of subscribers and views, and the plaintiffs’ positions within the entertainment management industry.
The ruling also addressed the falsity of the video content. The court pointed out, “While it is confirmed that there was a plagiarism dispute between Belift Lab and Min Hee-jin, there is no evidence to prove that ILLIT plagiarized NewJeans’ choreography,” adding that “the defendant posted the videos without sufficiently verifying the facts.”
Furthermore, the court stated, “According to the civil lawsuit ruling between ADOR and NewJeans, the submitted evidence is insufficient to recognize that NewJeans member Hanni heard the words ‘ignore them’ from an ILLIT manager,” and noted that “no other evidence exists to support this.”
However, not all of HYBE’s lawsuits were successful. The Seoul Western District Court dismissed the damages claim filed by ILLIT, HYBE, and Belift Lab against the content company Fastview. Fastview operates the YouTube channels ‘People Box’ and ‘Die Issue’ and had posted videos such as “ILLIT’s NewJeans Plagiarism Allegations.”
This ruling reaffirms that while “freedom of expression” is important, legal responsibility can follow when content targets specific individuals or companies without verifying the facts. Experts evaluate this as a case that raises awareness about the reckless spread of rumors and “cyber wrecker” content online, especially as the court recognized damages for false and slanderous claims that go beyond simple expressions of opinion.
