Prosecutors have frozen 169.4 million won ($125,000) worth of property owned by Kim Se-ui, head of YouTube channel HoverLab, as they seek to recover money he allegedly made through crimes targeting actor Kim Soo-hyun.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office completed the process on Thursday to prevent Kim Se-ui from disposing of his real estate, according to the office on Tuesday. The measure allows authorities to temporarily freeze property suspected of being linked to criminal proceeds until a final court ruling.
Kim Se-ui has been indicted over false claims he allegedly spread about Kim Soo-hyun on YouTube and other platforms. The YouTuber claimed that the actor had dated the late actor Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor.
The YouTuber is also accused of spreading fake news that the late actor died by suicide because Kim Soo-hyun pressured her to repay a debt.
Police had initially identified just 5.44 million won as suspected criminal proceeds. Prosecutors sought to freeze property based on that amount, but the court rejected the request on June 25.
“The amount of suspected criminal proceeds is too small compared to the value of the property to justify freezing it,” the court said.
Prosecutors, however, suspected that Kim Se-ui had made far more money from the alleged crimes. After he was taken into custody, prosecutors traced all donations made to HoverLab’s corporate accounts, questioned company personnel as witnesses and examined his assets.
The investigators...
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