Kim Se-ui, head of the YouTube channel Hover Lab who was indicted on charges of defaming the son of Cho Kuk Innovation Policy Institute Director Cho Kuk, has denied the charges in court.

During the first trial hearing held under Judge Choi Ji-yeon of Criminal Division 9 at the Seoul Central District Court, Kim's defense attorney stated, "We deny all of the charges in the indictment."

Kang Yong-seok, who was indicted alongside Kim, stated that he has currently filed for a transfer of jurisdiction and will state his position on the charges after a decision is reached.

The court decided to hold an additional hearing on October 27 to listen to the specific positions of both sides.

Kim and Kang are accused of spreading false information in a video uploaded to the Hover Lab channel in August 2019, claiming that "Cho Won, the son of Director Cho Kuk, sexually harassed a female student, but his mother, former Dongyang University Professor Chung Kyung-sim, instead turned the situation around to make it seem like her son was being bullied."

In September of the following year, Director Cho filed a complaint with the police against them, stating, "They labeled my son, who has painful experiences of being a victim of school violence, as a 'perpetrator of sexual harassment' and circulated patently false information."

Prosecutors confirmed that Cho Won was a victim of school violence rather than a perpetrator, and indicted Kang and Kim without detention in May, 5 years and 7 months after the complaint was filed.

Kim is also standing trial on charges of spreading false facts about actor Kim Soo-hyun regarding the cause of death of the late actor Kim Sae-ron, as well as stalking and blackmailing YouTuber Tzuyu (real name Park Jeong-won).

(Photo: Yonhap News)