Yoo Hye-won and Kim Ji-min sue... "Starting legal action over spread of private life rumors"

Former actress and influencer Yoo Hye-won has filed a criminal complaint against Kim Ji-min, a contestant on Channel A’s ″Heart Signal 4,″ initiating legal action. Yoo Hye-won’s legal representative, law firm Daeryun, stated in an official position on the 26th that content regarding Yoo Hye-won’s private life has been spreading on anonymous SNS and online communities without her consent. They reported that regardless of the factual accuracy, the disseminated content is being treated as true, leading to defamation and damage to her image through media reports and online redistribution. Law firm Daeryun explained that despite Yoo Hye-won and Kim Ji-min not knowing each other, they are taking seriously the circumstances under which specific details about Yoo Hye-won’s private life were mentioned. They are thoroughly reviewing the facts related to the creation and distribution of the posts and plan to proceed with a criminal complaint against Kim Ji-min, as well as a claim for damages depending on the outcome. It is reported that in June, Kim Ji-min posted on her SNS using the ″close friends only″ feature, implying that Yoo Hye-won was receiving sponsorship (so-called ″sponsor″) from a famous singer and producer while being in a relationship. The post spread through online communities, causing controversy. Yoo Hye-won’s side claims that this information is false. Law firm Daeryun emphasized the need to investigate when, from whom, and through what channels Kim Ji-min became aware of the information, whether there was any basis to consider it true, and whether any fact-checking procedures were conducted before posting. They also plan to request that the investigation confirm the original creator and transmitter of the information, the transmission process, the posting, and subsequent redistribution. Furthermore, while not holding all users legally responsible merely for capturing or receiving the posts circulated online, the firm warned that actively reposting or reprocessing unverified content as fact, especially in a way that identifies the victim, mocking or defaming them, or combining additional false information to spread it further, will result in necessary legal actions based on individual acts and evidence. Yoo Hye-won is an actress and influencer who appeared on Mnet’s ″Couple Palace 2″ last year.