Cafe Owner Accused of 'Cheongdam-dong Drinking Party' Loses First Trial in Damage Lawsuit Against The Tam Sa

The owner of the music cafe, identified as the location of the so-called ‘Cheongdam-dong drinking party suspicion,’ lost the first trial in a lawsuit for damages filed against the YouTube media outlet ‘Citizen Press The TamSa,’ which reported the related suspicions.

Former CEO Kang Jin-gu of The Thamsa. [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 12th, the Civil Division 25 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Song Seung-woo) ruled against Imiki (real name Lee Bo-kyung), the music cafe owner, and one other plaintiff in a lawsuit demanding the deletion of videos and damages from former The TamSa CEO Kang Jin-gu and four others. The court stated, "All claims of the plaintiffs are dismissed. The litigation costs shall be borne by the plaintiffs," thereby ruling in favor of the defendants. However, the court did not disclose detailed reasons for the judgment in the courtroom that day.

The ‘Cheongdam-dong drinking party suspicion’ surfaced in October 2022 when former Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Ui-gyeom raised it during a comprehensive audit by the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee. The suspicion involves President Yoon Seok-yeol and People Power Party leader candidate Han Dong-hoon having a late-night drinking party at a high-end bar in Cheongdam-dong with about 30 lawyers from the law firm Kim & Chang on July 19-20, 2022.

At the time, former lawmaker Kim released a phone call recording in which a cellist who was said to have been at the drinking party mentioned the details to her ex-boyfriend. The TamSa reported the suspicion and named Lee’s cafe as the dining location. However, during a police investigation in November 2022, the cellist testified that she "lied to deceive her ex-boyfriend."

In response, Lee and others filed a lawsuit in June last year, claiming that The TamSa’s report damaged their business sales and reputation, demanding the deletion of the video and 550 million KRW in damages. However, Lee and others later reduced the claim amount to 259 million KRW through an amendment of the claim.

Meanwhile, immediately after the verdict was announced, Lee’s legal representative stated, "The court has given a clean bill of health to the ‘witch hunt’-style reporting by pseudo-media and neglected its duty to protect the victims," adding, "We will review the judgment and decide soon whether to appeal."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.