Lawyer, YouTuber attend arrest warrant hearing over ‘mukbang’ star blackmail case

A local court held a hearing Friday on arrest warrants sought for a lawyer and a YouTuber on charges of blackmailing and extorting "mukbang" YouTube star Tzuyang. The Suwon District Court began the hearing at 2:10 p.m. for the lawyer, surnamed Choi, and Lee Se-wook, better known for his YouTube channel Caracula, on charges including blackmail against Tzuyang. The two reportedly entered the court via a private route and did not show up before the press. The prosecution had sought arrest warrants for the two men earlier this week. Earlier, Tzuyang filed a complaint against Choi, claiming that she signed an adviser agreement with him and paid him 23 million won (US$16,764) in fear that he would expose her past. He stands accused of blackmailing Tzuyang and handing false information about her over to another YouTuber, while Lee is suspected of abetting the blackmail of Tzuyang by YouTuber Gujeyeok. Lee is also accused of colluding with Gujeyeok to extort money from another internet broadcaster. The case w as brought to public attention when YouTube channel Hoverlab revealed last month that Tzuyang had been blackmailed with threats by several YouTubers to make public her past of working at a bar. Tzuyang, who has more than 10 million subscribers on YouTube, later explained that she had been forced to work there due to continued assault and threats from her former boyfriend. The court is expected to decide whether to grant the arrest warrants for the two later in the day. Last month, the same court granted a warrant to arrest two YouTubers, Gujeyeok and Jujakgambeolsa, on charges of taking 55 million won from Tzuyang. Source: Yonhap News Agency