Prosecutors have frozen assets belonging to Kim Se Eui, head of the YouTube channel Hover Lab, as they seek to secure approximately 169.4 million won (about $124,000) in alleged proceeds tied to content about actor Kim Soo Hyun.
According to legal sources on September 15th, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office secured a court-approved freeze on land owned by Kim, preventing him from disposing of the property while his criminal case is pending.
The move came after prosecutors traced Hover Lab’s donation accounts and conducted additional financial inquiries, identifying at least 54.4 million won in donations and 115 million won in advertising revenue from content at the center of Kim’s defamation case.
The combined 169.4 million won was substantially higher than the 5.44 million won initially identified by police, which had led a court to reject an earlier asset-freeze request in June.
Kim has been detained and indicted on charges including defamation over claims made through YouTube and other platforms that Kim Soo Hyun dated the late actress Kim Sae Ron while she was a minor and that pressure from Kim Soo Hyun’s side to repay a debt contributed to her death. Prosecutors allege those claims were false.
At his first pretrial hearing on September 11th, Kim’s side denied all charges, maintaining that the statements made in the broadcasts were not false and seeking a not-guilty verdict. His side has also reiterated its request for a jury trial.
Kim Soo Hyun’s attorney, meanwhile, expressed concern to the court that a jury trial could turn the proceedings into a battle over public sentiment.
The asset freeze does not itself determine Kim’s guilt or establish that the money is criminal proceeds. It is a provisional measure intended to preserve assets in the event of a future conviction and forfeiture order.
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