Actor Lee Young-ae / Yonhap

A YouTuber who claimed that actor Lee Young-ae had a personal relationship with first lady Kim Keon Hee has been summarily indicted by prosecutors.

According to legal sources on Thursday, the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office summarily indicted Jung Chun-soo, former head of the YouTube channel Open Mind TV, on March 14 for defamation, requesting a fine of 7 million won ($5,100).

A summary indictment is a legal procedure in which prosecutors request the court to impose a fine without a formal trial, based on written documents alone.

The case stems from a 2023 report by Open Mind TV, which alleged that Lee Young-ae had close ties to the first lady following her donation of 50 million won for a memorial hall project for the late President Syngman Rhee.

Lee's side denied the claim, calling it false information, and filed a defamation complaint against Jung with the Yongsan Police Station.

Lee's representatives clarified that the donation was meant to recognize both the achievements and failings of former presidents in the spirit of reconciliation. They also said that she had previously donated to the foundations of former presidents Park Chung-hee, Kim Young-sam, Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun.

The case was initially transferred to Yangju Police Station, which decided not to pursue charges. However, after Lee's legal team filed an objection, the case was forwarded to the prosecution. Although the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office initially dismissed the case, the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office launched a direct investigation in August last year following another appeal by Lee's side, ultimately leading to the summary indictment.

Jung said the report was not false and was in the public interest, but prosecutors concluded that "the evidence supports the charge of defamation through false information."

Jung is also on trial for separate charges of violating the Public Official Election Act and the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, related to past claims that Kim Keon Hee once worked as a hostess under the alias "Julie."

In another case, Jung was fined 20 million won by the Uijeongbu District Court last month for falsely claiming that former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon was connected to President Yoon Suk Yeol, Kim Keon Hee and Yoon's mother-in-law, Choi Eun-soon.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.