India, Oct. 30 -- The Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Division 25 on Oct. 23 ordered entertainment reporter Choi to pay former THE BOYZ member Ju Haknyeon 200 million won (around $140,000) in damages in a defamation case, after rejecting claims linking him to prostitution.
The ruling came more than a year after the allegations led to Ju Haknyeon’s exit from the K-pop group The Boyz and the termination of his contract with agency One Hundred.
Court’s findings on verification and evidence
According to legal sources cited by Yonhap News, Judge Kwon Ki Man ruled that Choi defamed Ju Haknyeon by claiming the singer had paid for a sexual arrangement with a Japanese adult film actress and later admitted to it.
The court’s key observations...