The prosecution has initiated attachment registrations for land owned by Kim Se-ui, the head of Hover Lab who was indicted and detained on charges of defamation against actor Kim Soo-hyun, in order to recover criminal proceeds.
The Criminal Proceeds Recovery Department of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (led by Senior Prosecutor So Jung-su) announced on September 15 that it completed the attachment registration on September 10 for land owned by Kim to confiscate 169.4 million won in criminal proceeds. Attachment registration is a procedure in which the court freezes a defendant's assets to prevent them from hiding or selling their property before a final criminal judgment is reached, recording the seizure or provisional seizure on the certified copy of the registry.
The Criminal Proceeds Recovery Department explained that following Kim's detention, it collaborated with the Women and Children Crimes Investigation Division 2 to identify a larger amount of criminal proceeds than what was initially investigated by the police. Previously, the police viewed the criminal proceeds tallied during the investigation as approximately 5 million won and applied to the court for attachment registration. However, the court dismissed the application on June 25 on the grounds that "the proceeds acquired are minor compared to the value of the real estate, making preservation unnecessary."
Subsequently, through investigation, the prosecution determined that Kim had earned at least 54.4 million won in donations and at least 115 million won in advertising revenue through the defamation of Kim Soo-hyun, and filed for attachment registration with the court, which the court accepted.
Previously, Kim was indicted and detained on June 23 on charges of broadcasting YouTube videos that fabricated a relationship using arbitrarily edited KakaoTalk conversation screens and false audio files, despite the fact that Kim Soo-hyun had never dated the late Kim Sae-ron for six years starting from when she was a minor at the age of 15, between March and December of last year. At the first preparatory hearing held on September 11 by Criminal Settlement Division 26 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Hyun-kyung), Kim's side denied all charges and asked for an acquittal.
Meanwhile, following Kim's detention, Hover Lab has continued its channel operations with figures such as Music Director Lee Han, who was in charge of composition and arrangement for the musical Park Jeong-hee. Through a letter from prison, Kim expressed difficulties, stating, "Even my prison comfort money has been provisionally seized, so I don't even have money to buy bottled water, tissues, toothpaste, and a toothbrush," and "Hover Lab's donations have dropped to one-tenth, and last month the director couldn't even receive a salary."
(Photo: Yonhap News) (Reported by Kang Kyung-yoon, SBS C&M)
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