Court has asked actor Kim Soo Hyun to narrow the scope of his request to remove 45 YouTube videos about him, questioning whether it can determine that the videos contain false information while the YouTuber responsible for them is still facing a trial.
On November 4, the 51st Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Chief Judge Hwang In Seong, held a hearing on Kim Soo Hyun's application for an injunction against Kim Se Ui, the operator of the YouTube channel Garosero Research Institute (HoverLab Inc.). The actor is seeking the removal of the videos and an order prohibiting further uploads. His legal team filed the application in September, alleging that 45 videos published by the channel contain defamatory material about him.
At the hearing, Kim Soo Hyun's legal team pointed out that the 11 most-viewed videos (out of approximately 2,000) prominently feature the actor's face along with expressions such as "pedophilia," "obscene," "pervert," and "Kim Soo Hyun, who led Kim Sae Ron to her death." His team maintained that all 45 videos should be taken down together.
However, Kim Se Ui's legal team countered that Kim Soo Hyun had not established that the disputed content was false.
The court pointed out that the 45 videos Kim Soo-hyun is seeking to have removed contain not only material concerning the actor but also advertisements and other unrelated issues, making the scope of his request too broad.
"The applicant's side argues that there is no need to distinguish between the videos and that doing so would be meaningless," the court said. "If we accept that argument, we would have to conclude that all of the videos should be deleted in their entirety, despite the constitutional protection of freedom of expression. It is questionable whether we can do so."
The court continued, "According to Kim Soo Hyun's representative, the videos are inseparably connected, meaning we would have no choice but to order complete removal of the entire collection. However, such a decision would require special circumstances." It then instructed his legal team to clearly define and narrow the scope of the application so that the court could focus on the key issues in reaching its decision.
The court also noted that Kim Se Ui's criminal trial is still ongoing. "It is unclear whether we can determine that the claims are clearly false based solely on the fact that he was indicted while in custody," the court said.
The court added, "If we preemptively rule on matters currently being examined in the criminal trial, it would effectively mean acknowledging that 'defamation was committed using false information', so it is questionable whether we can make such a determination." "Kim Se Ui's representative needs to provide an explanation demonstrating that the claims are not false but true."
Kim Soo Hyun's legal team has been given until November 20 to clarify and narrow the scope of the application. The court will then give Kim Se Ui until December 11 to submit its response before making a decision.
Source: Newsis, Korea JoongAng Daily
