On September 23, a post titled “Winner’s Composure: Jang Won-young with Unshakable Mentality” began circulating on online communities. The author of the post wrote, “Jang Won-young wore the exact same outfit as the one Sojang wore during their police investigation.”
Indeed, Jang Won-young was spotted at the airport wearing a pink top, white skirt, and sunglasses, mirroring the outfit worn by Sojang during their police interrogation.
Sojang is a YouTube channel notorious for spreading fake news and continuously slandering IVE’s Jang Won-young.
Known for creating malicious content targeting celebrities, Sojang is infamous for fabricating stories such as, “Jang Won-young sabotaged a fellow trainee’s debut out of jealousy” and “Other celebrities were involved in prostitution or had plastic surgery.”
In response, IVE’s agency, Starship Entertainment, filed a defamation lawsuit against Sojang, citing the continuous dissemination of false information that damaged Jang Won-young’s reputation.
During the investigation, prosecutors discovered that the operator of Sojang, identified as A, earned approximately 250 million KRW ($190,000) over two years since June 2024 from the YouTube channel. Part of the revenue was used to purchase real estate. In January, the court ruled in favor of Jang Won-young, ordering A to pay the female idol 100 million KRW ($76,000) in damages. The case is currently in the appeals process.