Actor Kim Soo-hyun requests deletion of 45 videos of Ka Se-yeon... Court: “Scope must be reduced”

The civil court takes a cautious stance in determining false facts, saying, “Related criminal trials are in progress.”

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Bal-eum = In response to actor Kim Soo-hyun's request to delete a YouTube video of Garosero Research Institute (Ga Se-yeon) related to him, the court ordered the court to specify the scope of the request for deletion.

On the 4th, Civil Agreement Division 51 of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Hwang In-seong) held a hearing on the case filed by Mr. Kim against CEO Se-yeon Kim of Kim Se-ui for the deletion and prohibition of publication of YouTube videos.

Previously, Mr. Kim's side applied to the court in September to delete 45 YouTube videos of Ka Se-yeon containing defamatory content related to him.

On the day of the interrogation, Mr. Kim's side requested the deletion of 45 videos in batches, saying, "Out of the total 2,000 videos, 11 with the highest number of views contain Kim Soo-hyun's face and expressions such as 'paedophilia, obscenity, perversion, and Kim Soo-hyun who led Kim Sae-ron's death.'"

Representative Kim's side said that the scope of the deletion request was wide, saying that there was no explanation that the video related to Kim was false and that the facts were still being contested in a criminal trial.

The court ordered that the scope of the application be specified and narrowed, saying that the videos that Mr. Kim requested to be deleted "seem to contain advertisements and other issues in addition to content related to the creditor (Kim Soo-hyun)."

At the same time, he pointed out, "It is questionable whether we can determine whether it is clearly false information just by being arrested and indicted in a criminal case, and whether we can admit that we have defamed something that is being discussed in a criminal trial with false information."

He went on to explain, “It seems that the creditor is belatedly making the claim due to his or her social position and interests, but it is not easy to apply broadly if the truth is to be conveyed to the court.”

It was also added that for the court to reach a conclusion, there must be special circumstances to delete the entire video despite freedom of expression under the Constitution.

The court decided to ask Mr. Kim to outline the scope of the deletion request by the 20th and then receive Kim's position by the 11th of next month. Afterwards, both sides will be reviewed and a conclusion will be reached.

Representative Kim was arrested and indicted last June on charges of spreading false information on YouTube and other platforms that Kim dated Kim Sae-ron, who was a minor, and that the direct cause of Kim Sae-ron's death was Kim's pressure to repay her debt.

There are also charges of threatening to broadcast Mr. Kim's private photos without permission and demanding a public apology by making statements as if he would expose personal information.