Choi Si Won wins U.S. court ruling to unmask 10 alleged online defamers for Korean lawsuit

Choi Si Won has taken a major legal step toward identifying individuals accused of posting malicious comments about him online.

According to the Sisa Journal on July 3, a U.S. court has granted Choi Si Won's request for pretrial discovery, allowing him to obtain key information needed for his civil damages lawsuit in South Korea.

On July 2 (local time), the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California approved Choi's discovery petition against 10 users of platforms, including X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube.

Discovery is a legal procedure unique to the U.S. judicial system that allows parties involved in litigation to obtain evidence necessary for a case before trial.

The court reportedly determined that the requested information was limited to the minimum necessary to identify the users and was not overly broad, leading it to grant the request.

The dispute stems from May, when Choi Si Won posted several Chinese idioms and a Bible verse on social media shortly after former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol received his first-instance criminal verdict. His posts included the phrase "Bului Pilmang" ("Those who commit injustice will inevitably perish") and "Tobung Wahae" ("Collapse like crumbling earth and tiles").

The posts quickly became the subject of political interpretation, prompting a wave of personal attacks and allegedly defamatory comments online. In response, Choi filed a civil lawsuit seeking damages against 10 users on allegations of defamation and insult.

Choi Si Won's legal action aligns with SM Entertainment's broader efforts to protect its artists from online abuse. In February, the agency stated that it viewed the continued spread of false information, malicious rumors, and online harassment against its artists with utmost seriousness.

At the time, the company said it would continue collecting evidence and gradually expand legal action against those responsible for malicious online posts.

With the U.S. court's approval, Choi Si Won's legal team is now expected to obtain identifying information for the anonymous users, including their names, dates of birth, and addresses. Once their identities are confirmed, the civil damages lawsuit currently underway in South Korea is expected to gain significant momentum.

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