On August 14th, Suwon District Prosecutor’s Office’s Criminal Divisions 2 and 5 arrested and indicted YouTuber Goo Jae-yuk and Kam Byeol-sa on charges of extortion. In addition, Caracula (real name Lee Se-wook) was charged with abetting Goo Jae-yuk and Kam Byeol-sa’s extortion, while Crocodile was sent to prosecution without detention on a similar charge.
According to the investigation, the suspects formed a group to strengthen their friendship and search for targets. They exchanged related information in real time via a group chat. The prosecution concluded that the suspects conspired with each other systematically. In fact, they exchanged opinions, such as “it is more beneficial to be fined by YouTube for cyberbullying Tzuyang”.
According to records of the group chat messages and calls obtained by the prosecution, Goo Jae-yuk shared Tzuyang information to the group chat as soon as he obtained it. Members of the group even encouraged each other to discuss things like how much they would earn if they uploaded Tzuyang video and how to increase views. Also, they also divided the amount of money they received together.
It is known that there were more participants in the group other than the four. However, the prosecution confirmed that other participants were not involved in Tzuyang’s extortion case.
The prosecution said, “Although they claimed to be people pursuing justice, these people targeted weak individuals and celebrities rather than powerful figures. In particular, Goo Jae-yuk and friends insisted that they protect the victims despite extorting money from Tzuyang”, emphasizing the need to strengthen laws and punishments.
Meanwhile, Goo Jae-yuk and Kam Byeol-sa were accused of extorting 55 million won from Tzuyang in February last year. Caracula and Crocodile encouraged Goo Jae-yuk to send videos directly to Tzuyang to extort money rather than uploading them online.
Source: Daum
