BTS members V and Jungkook sue YouTuber for defamation, seeking damages for false claims and invasion of privacy.

The operator A of the 'Taldok (de-otaku) detention center' (a term for a type of YouTuber who deals with gossip for views and profit) spread rumors about BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan) and showed a brazen attitude. On October 25, the second trial of the damage compensation lawsuit filed by V, Jungkook, and their agency BIGHIT MUSIC against the operator of the Taldok detention center was held at the Seoul Western District Court Civil 12. V and Jungkook, through their legal representatives, filed a lawsuit against A in March this year for approximately 90 million won (about 986,000 dollars), with the first trial taking place on August 23. The Taldok detention center produced videos containing rumors about not only V and Jungkook but also famous celebrities like IVE's Wonyoung, Kang Daniel, EXO's Suho, and aespa's KARINA. In the second trial, V and Jungkook stated that the videos produced by the Taldok detention center violated their personality and portrait rights and disrupted their agency's business. On the other hand, the Taldok detention center claimed, 'I don't think the operator should be responsible for compensating for the damages caused by the videos of V and Jungkook,' and argued that 'even if the court recognizes responsibility exceptionally, the amount of damages claimed is too high.' Previously, on December 20, 2021, V mentioned part of the video posted by the Taldok detention center through BTS's fan community platform Weverse. A net user captured the video made by the YouTuber and posted it on a bulletin board accessible to all BTS members. Upon seeing this, V posted, 'Oh? I will proceed with the lawsuit. It seems I can earn some money for snacks. Did they even touch my family and friends? Goodbye.' He added, 'I glanced at it earlier, but not only us, all artists dislike people like that. To all the fans, ARMY (BTS's fans), I don't know if you monitored it, but I will sue on behalf of those who were hurt and couldn't muster the courage.' In relation to this, BTS's agency announced on June 28, 'We filed a lawsuit against the Taldok detention center for defamation and business obstruction in 2022, and after receiving a decision to suspend the investigation, we actively requested the investigation to be reopened by securing the personal information of the Taldok detention center and providing it to the investigative agency. As a result, the investigation has now resumed and is ongoing. Additionally, we filed a civil lawsuit for damages against the illegal acts of the Taldok detention center, including defamation, earlier this year, and we are soon awaiting trial.' On September 30, they stated, 'In the case of the lawsuit for damages against the illegal acts such as defamation filed against the Taldok detention center, the first trial is underway, and subsequent procedures are being carried out sincerely,' and 'We are actively working through investigative agencies and government-related organizations to ensure that those who illegally obtained or leaked the personal information of artists are punished.' On October 23, the Taldok detention center was sentenced to four years in prison and a fine of about 211.42 million won (about 2.32 million dollars) in a final trial related to the violation of laws concerning the promotion of information and communication networks and information protection (defamation) against Suho and KARINA. The Taldok detention center's lawyer acknowledged all the charges as 'unintentional' and stated, 'We are trying to reach an agreement with the victims, but we have not yet reached an agreement.' A, who appeared in court with their face hidden by a hat and mask, claimed, 'I am sorry for having hurt the victims badly,' expressing feelings of guilt and pessimism. This is completely different from their attitude of claiming no responsibility in the trial related to V and Jungkook. The declaration trial filed by KARINA and Suho is scheduled for December 18. The Taldok detention center has also been sued by solo singer Kang Daniel. On September 11, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal 18 sentenced the Taldok detention center to a fine of 10 million won (about 110,000 dollars) for uploading false videos aimed at defaming Kang Daniel on their channel in 2022. Kang Daniel has expressed his intention to file a civil lawsuit for 100 million won (about 1.1 million dollars) separately from the criminal proceedings. The first to respond to the Taldok detention center was STARSHIP Entertainment, to which IVE's Wonyoung belongs. Since November 2022, STARSHIP has continued civil and criminal lawsuits against the Taldok detention center, as well as lawsuits abroad. In May last year, they received an information provision order from a U.S. court and obtained meaningful information from Google headquarters in July regarding the operator of the Taldok detention center. In January this year, the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff in part in the 100 million won damage compensation lawsuit filed by Wonyoung against the Taldok detention center. The Taldok detention center appealed the first-instance ruling and applied for a stay of enforcement. In response, the court made a decision for mediation, but both parties did not reach an agreement.