YouTuber Gujae-yeok and lawyer apply for bail after being court-imprisoned for threatening and extorting money from Tzu-yang
It was reported on the 18th that YouTuber Gujae-yeok (real name Lee Jun-hee) and lawyer Choi, who received a prison sentence in the first trial for threatening and extorting money from popular Mukbang YouTuber Tzu-yang (real name Park Jeong-won), have applied for bail during the second trial.
This case, which has garnered social interest as a threatening case involving a popular YouTuber with over 12 million subscribers, is currently ongoing in the appeals court.
According to the Suwon District Court's Criminal Appeal Division 3-3 (Chief Judge Kim Eun-kyo, Jo Sun-pyo, Kim Tae-hwan), Gujae-yeok applied for bail on June 24, and the bail hearing took place on August 8.
Additionally, lawyer Choi also previously applied for bail on April 4 and underwent a hearing on the 25th of the same month. As of now, no results from the hearings for both individuals have been released.
The circumstances and legal penalties of the YouTube threat case
Gujae-yeok is charged with conspiring with other YouTubers to threaten Tzu-yang in February 2023, stating "I have received a tip related to tax evasion and personal life issues. If you give me money, I won't make this public," and extorting 55 million KRW. He was arrested and indicted on August 14 of last year.
In the case of lawyer Choi, he was prosecuted for threatening to leak personal information he acquired while handling a civil suit for Tzu-yang's ex-boyfriend A and threatening to expose it.
The two defendants were released on bail in January and were tried without detention for the first trial; however, the first trial court sentenced Gujae-yeok to 3 years in prison and lawyer Choi to 2 years in prison, leading to their court-imprisonment.
The first trial court determined that Gujae-yeok "clearly indicated an intention to exploit weaknesses for extortion and showed an attempt to mislead public opinion, while also not demonstrating remorse in court."
Regarding lawyer Choi, it was pointed out that "a lawyer has a mission to uphold basic human rights and to achieve social justice, yet Choi demanded to promote his firm's products and gain economic benefits by exploiting his knowledge of the victim's personal information."
Both the prosecution and the defendants have appealed the first trial verdict, with the prosecution seeking a 4-year prison sentence for Gujae-yeok and a 5-year prison sentence for lawyer Choi in the appeals court. The appeals court ruling for this case is scheduled for September 5.
Image source: YouTuber Gujae-yeok / News1, YouTuber Tzu-yang / News1
