Actor Kim Soo-hyun's request to have YouTube videos related to him by Garosero Research Institute deleted has prompted the court to ask him to specify the scope of the deletion request.
The 51st Civil Affairs Division of the Seoul Central District Court held a hearing today (November 4) on the application for a preliminary injunction filed by Kim against Kim Se-의, head of Garosero Research Institute, seeking the removal and prohibition of posting YouTube videos.
Previously, in September, Kim's legal representatives filed a request with the court to delete 45 Garosero Research Institute YouTube videos containing defamatory content about him.
Kim's side requested the blanket deletion of 45 videos, stating, "Out of a total of 2,000 videos, the 11 videos with the highest view counts feature Kim Soo-hyun's face alongside expressions such as 'pedophile, obscene, pervert, and Kim Soo-hyun who led to Kim Sae-ron's death.'"
On the other hand, Kim Se-의's side argued that there was insufficient proof that the videos concerning Kim were false information, noting that the charges are still being contested in a criminal trial, and that the scope of the deletion request was too broad.
The court pointed out that the videos requested for deletion by Kim's side "seem to include advertisements and other issues in addition to content about Kim Soo-hyun," and ordered them to specify and narrow down the scope of their request.
The court added, "It is questionable whether we can determine whether something constitutes clearly false information simply because an indictment was filed in the current criminal case, and whether we can recognize that defamation occurred based on false information regarding matters currently being debated in a criminal trial."
The court further explained, "It appears that Kim Soo-hyun's side is belatedly making claims due to his social position and interests, but making such a broad request will make it difficult for the court to perceive the sincerity of the claims."
The court also noted that for it to reach a conclusion, there must be special circumstances requiring the deletion of the entire video despite the freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution.
Previously, in June, Kim Se-의 was indicted and detained on charges of spreading false information via YouTube and other platforms, claiming that actor Kim Soo-hyun had a relationship with Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor, and that pressure from Kim's side regarding debt repayment was the direct cause of Kim Sae-ron's death.
Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Kim Min-ji | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
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