July arrives — and YouTubers who targeted Baek Jong-won are watching nervously

With the so-called "fake news elimination law" — an amendment to the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection — taking effect Tuesday, attention is turning to whether The Born Korea and its chief executive Baek Jong-won will move forward with legal action against YouTubers accused of spreading false information about him. A court recently ruled that Baek's claim to have originated daepae samgyeopsal — thinly shaved pork belly — was not supported by fact, adding another dimension to the legal battles ahead.

The Born Korea announced in February that it planned to pursue legal action against YouTubers who had defamed Baek once the fake news law took effect July 7. In preparation, the company sought to identify those YouTubers through a California court with jurisdiction over Google's headquarters.

The new law allows victims of false or manipulated information spread online for financial gain to seek punitive damages of up to five times the actual harm suffered. The amended legislation newly defines and prohibits the distribution of false or manipulated information — beyond existing categories of illegal content such as obscene material — and also classifies content containing hate speech or discrimination as illegal.

Large platforms with an average of 1 million or more daily users, such as Naver and YouTube, must establish operational policies covering how they receive and handle reports of illegal or false content. Anyone — not just the aggrieved party — may report suspected false information to a platform, which then decides whether to remove it. The punitive damages provision applies to channels with at least 100,000 subscribers, a threshold that covers a significant number of domestic news outlets and current-affairs YouTubers.

Some observers acknowledge that the harm caused by false information is real, but warn that the amended law could have a chilling effect on freedom of expression.

Screenshot from Kim Jae-hwan's YouTube channel

Among the YouTubers Baek has in his sights is Kim Jae-hwan, a former MBC producer known for the documentary "True Taste Show." Since last year, Kim has used his YouTube channel to make a series of allegations against Baek — including claims that Baek engaged in gapjil, or abusive conduct, toward broadcasters to have cast members replaced, and that expired ingredients were used at regional festivals. The Born Korea publicly stated it would take legal action against Kim.

Kim also claimed that Baek's assertion of having originated daepae samgyeopsal was false — and a court recently sided with him on that point. The lawsuit was filed by a The Born Korea franchisee who argued Kim's claims had caused financial harm, but the court declined to recognize Baek's "originator" claim, finding that daepae samgyeopsal had existed in various regions since the 1980s. Baek had stated on The Born Korea's website and in multiple television appearances that he developed the dish in 1993 and registered the trademark. In light of the court's ruling, he now faces suspicion of having spread false information himself.

Some observers now suggest that if The Born Korea moves to report YouTubers under the fake news elimination law, Baek himself could end up facing a complaint in return.

paq@heraldcorp.com