Despite filing a 'discovery' request, some online commenters have continued to spread malicious comments about Jang Won-young and IU. Experts stress that international cooperation is urgently needed to catch these malicious commenters.

A 54-year-old man, identified as ㄱ, who runs a hospital in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, has been suffering extreme distress due to a YouTube channel that repeatedly posts false and defamatory videos about his hospital. Despite filing a complaint against the channel operator, investigation authorities were unable to identify the perpetrator, citing difficulties in obtaining cooperation from YouTube, which is based in the United States.

The police investigation was put on indefinite hold due to the "unknown whereabouts of the suspect," prompting ㄱ to look into the "discovery" system of the US court in an effort to find the perpetrator himself.

On the 9th, ㄱ told Hankyoreh, "I am under extreme stress and even taking medication, but I have no way to find the perpetrator, so I'm looking into the US judicial system."

Singer IU, Jang Won-young, and Choi Tae-won, chairman of the SK Group, as well as Kim Hee-young, director of the T&C Foundation and Choi's cohabitant, have reportedly utilized the US discovery system to identify so-called "cyber wreckers" and malicious commenters, and victims of online defamation and insults appear to be taking notice of this new "avenue."

The discovery system is a procedure where a US court orders the disclosure of necessary evidence and data related to a lawsuit to the opposing party or a third party before the trial begins.

Although this is a makeshift measure taken due to the reluctance of large foreign platform companies to provide information on defamation perpetrators, the high cost and complex procedures make it difficult for most victims to access.

The YouTube channel "Taldeoksusangso," which was convicted of defamation against Jang Won-young and other members of the K-pop group IVE in January, is reportedly the first case where the identity of the operator was revealed through the discovery system.

In a situation where Google, which owns YouTube, does not provide the perpetrator's identity, Jang's side submitted a discovery application to the US District Court for the Northern District of California in 2023 for the purpose of filing civil and criminal lawsuits in Korea and elsewhere.

The scope of discovery requests has expanded beyond celebrities to include lawyers, religious figures, and businesspeople, with over 30 cases handled so far, according to Jeong Gyeong-seok, an attorney who handled the Taldeoksusangso case.

However, due to the cost and procedural issues, accessing the discovery system is not easy.

Kim Tae-yeon, an attorney who handles discovery cases, said, "You have to hire a US attorney separately, and there may be additional costs for each document, so the cost can range from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of won."

He added that in the case of Taldeoksusangso, Google had stored data that could identify the account holder, such as account information, but there are accounts where identification is difficult.

Therefore, there is a need for comprehensive international cooperation efforts to prevent victims from having to find perpetrators themselves.

A researcher at the National Assembly Research Service said, "The discovery system, which is time-consuming and costly, is not a feasible option for everyone," and added, "There is a need for effective measures and international cooperation efforts so that our investigative agencies and courts can obtain the identities of suspects from global companies."

Kim Mi-kyung, a professor of media and communication at Chungwoon University, also said, "Given the seriousness of the defamation issue, companies need to take responsibility and respond actively to cooperation requests."