YouTuber Tzuyang's legal team expressed concern over another YouTuber who plans to file a constitutional complaint after receiving a final prison sentence for extorting tens of millions of won from Tzuyang.

Attorney Kim Tae-yeon, Tzuyang’s legal representative, held a press conference at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Wednesday alongside Rep. Kim Jang-kyom of the People Power Party.

Rep. Kim criticized the planned constitutional complaint by YouTuber GooJeYeok, who was sentenced to three years in prison for blackmailing and extorting tens of millions of won from Tzuyang.

“The destruction of the judicial system to save one person, President Lee Jae Myung, is resulting in harm to innocent victims,” Rep. Kim said. “There are already side effects of the three judicial reform bills pushed through by the Lee administration and the Democratic Party [DP]. While the DP framed them as measures to expand citizens’ rights, the reality is the opposite.

“Criminals whose sentences have been finalized by courts are now attempting to abuse the constitutional complaint system to take their cases to the Constitutional Court and overturn rulings,” he continued. “This opens a path for perpetrators to prolong trials while placing pain and anxiety on victims.”

“Tzuyang was only briefly relieved after the final ruling, but upon hearing about the constitutional complaint, she worried whether she would have to wait again for another judgment,” attorney Kim said during the press conference. “The appeal system has resulted in a situation where the suffering that the victim believed had ended is repeating itself.”

Earlier, attorney Kim So-yeon, the legal representative of GooJeYeok, claimed on social media on Thursday that the court had violated six constitutional provisions, including the right to privacy, equality and the defendant’s right to defense.

In a handwritten letter released that day by the attorney, GooJeYeok wrote, “Please reveal the injustice through a constitutional complaint,” and requested a full copy of the Constitutional Court Act and provisions on judicial distortion crimes.

“I am grateful to President Lee and the DP for pushing forward the three judicial reform bills so that unconstitutional investigations and trials — including issues related to admissibility of evidence and evidentiary judgment — can be corrected,” GooJeYeok’s lawyer said, adding that she “will do her best to uncover the truth of the case and rectify any wrongs.”

The new system, introduced under a revised Constitutional Court Act, allows individuals to file a constitutional complaint if their basic rights were allegedly violated because a finalized court ruling failed to follow procedures required by the Constitution or other laws. Until now, court judgments were excluded from constitutional petitions in Korea, meaning only laws themselves could be reviewed for constitutionality.


This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]