IU. [Yonhap]
IU. [Yonhap]

Singer and actor IU, whose real name is Lee Ji-eun, has taken formal legal steps to identify anonymous online users who spread rumors about her, with the precise damages figure of 30,000,100 won ($22,400) drawing considerable attention.

Sports Kyunghyang reported on Nov. 9 that IU had filed a defamation lawsuit on June 25 at the Seoul Central District Court against the authors of malicious posts, seeking damages for harm to her reputation.

The complaint lists the claimed damages at 30,000,100 won. IU's legal team explicitly designated the amount as a "partial claim," making clear that the sum represents only a portion of the total damages they intend to seek.

The team said it plans to calculate additional losses — including legal costs and damage to her image as an advertising model — and to increase the damages claim accordingly.

A partial claim signals that the plaintiff intends to seek a larger amount later. Filing for hundreds of millions of won from the outset would cause court filing fees to rise exponentially, and the identities of the defendants have not yet been confirmed. The strategy is to start with a minimum figure, then calculate the full extent of damages once the perpetrators are identified.

The specific figure of 30,000,100 won is also worth noting. Under the Civil Procedure Act, a small-claims case involving 30 million won or less can be decided with a ruling that states only the conclusion, omitting the reasoning. By adding just 100 won to push the amount above that threshold, the case moves to a single-judge trial that requires a detailed written explanation of the ruling. In other words, IU's legal team is seeking to create an official record of the defendants' conduct — one that can be used as evidence in future proceedings.

The lawsuit targets anonymous accounts on Threads, the social media platform operated by Meta. IU's team alleges that the accounts published at least 52 posts and comments between March and October last year containing allegations of plagiarism and claims that she holds Chinese citizenship, damaging her reputation.

The central obstacle was identifying who was behind the accounts. Although the accounts themselves were identified, the real names and addresses of the users were unknown, making it difficult to serve the complaint through domestic courts.

In response, IU's legal team applied to a US court on July 15 for a discovery procedure to identify the account holders.

Judge Noel Wise of the US District Court for the Northern District of California authorized the issuance and service of a subpoena requiring Meta to produce account-related records on Nov. 5 (local time), 113 days after the application was filed. IU's team submitted proof of service the following day.

The ruling allows IU's legal team to demand from Meta information needed to identify the account holders, including their names, email addresses, phone numbers and access logs.

Meta must respond within 21 days of receiving the subpoena. However, it may apply to quash or modify the subpoena within 30 days, and the actual scope of information it must provide is limited to what US law permits.

Once the names and addresses of the account holders are confirmed, IU's legal team plans to apply to the domestic court to amend the defendant information and proceed with the damages lawsuit.


min3654@heraldcorp.com