YouTuber Gu Je Yeok, who was on trial for blackmailing and extorting money from the famous mukbang YouTuber Tzuyang, along with some other major YouTubers, has been sentenced to prison by the court.
On February 20, KST, the Suwon District Court’s Criminal Division held a hearing for the sentencing of five individuals involved in this case, including Gu Je Yeok (real name Lee Jun Hee), lawyer Choi, YouTubers Jujak Gambyeolsa (Jeon Guk Jin), Caracula (Lee Se Wook), and “Crocodile” (Choi Il Hwan). All five were charged with blackmail and other offenses.
Judge Park Yi Rang, who presided over the hearing, sentenced Gu Je Yeok to three years in prison, while lawyer Choi was sentenced to two years. Jujak Gambyeolsa was sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for three years, and 160 hours of community service. Caracula received a suspended one-year prison sentence for three years and 240 hours of community service. Finally, Crocodile was ordered to pay a fine of ₩5.00 million KRW (about $ 3,480 USD).
While handing out the sentences, the court stated that the defendants had not shown any remorse for their actions, which was taken into consideration when deciding their punishment.
The defendants appear to have been largely unaware of the illegality of leaking private information…In particular, defendant Gu Je Yeok (Lee Jun Hee) has not shown any remorse even up until this trial, which has been unfavorable for him…Defendant Choi is a lawyer and a journalist, and although he isn’t a civil servant, he must maintain professional ethics while performing public duties. But, he leaked Tzuyang’s personal information, which was obtained during the legal proceedings.
— Judge Park Yi Rang
Gu Je Yeok was indicted and taken into custody on charges of extorting ₩55.0 million KRW (about $ 38,300 USD) from Tzuyang in October 2021 by threatening to upload a video accusing her of harassing small business owners by filing excessive lawsuits.
During the investigation, it was revealed that the other aforementioned YouTubers shared Tzuyang’s personal information in a KakaoTalk chatroom. Hence, the prosecution determined that they were also involved in Gu Je Yeok’s crime and indicted them.
Lawyer Choi is accused of threatening Tzuyang with exposing her past, including her alleged history of working at entertainment establishments and extorting approximately ₩23.0 million KRW (about $ 16,000 USD) from her under the pretext of providing media response consultation. He was also revealed to have provided information regarding the mukbang creator’s tax evasion to another major YouTube channel.
Choi also allegedly tried to cover up his involvement with Gu Je Yeok by fabricating and sharing a fake will of Tzuyang’s ex-boyfriend and former agency CEO, “A” (deceased), to portray that Tzuyang’s exposé was done under A’s instructions.
Meanwhile, Tzuyang went on a long hiatus from YouTube last year after revealing the harrowing abuse she went through at the hands of “A.” She resumed her activities in October 2024 and has since been posting routinely on her channel.
Read more about her case here:
Mukbang YouTuber Tzuyang Reveals That Abusive Ex-Boyfriend Forced Her To Start Streaming
