Former Block B member, Park Kyung, has admitted to spreading false information regarding chart manipulation suspicions and has compensated singer Lim Jae-hyun with 30 million won.

According to a report by Ilgan Sports on the 5th, the Seoul Eastern District Court ruled in favor of Lim Jae-hyun on the 18th of last month in a defamation lawsuit he filed against Park Kyung for spreading false information. The court ordered Park Kyung to pay Lim Jae-hyun 30 million won in damages. Typically, in civil lawsuits, the maximum amount recognized for compensation is 30 million won.

The court stated, "The defendant (Park Kyung) claims to feel remorse for not carefully verifying the facts about whether the plaintiff (Lim Jae-hyun) manipulated music charts." The court acknowledged that Park Kyung's statement had defamed Lim Jae-hyun and that he should compensate for the emotional distress caused. It has been confirmed that Park Kyung has completed the payment.

Song Hyun-seok, the attorney from the law firm Yeil Central representing Lim Jae-hyun, said, "This lawsuit was initially set for mediation. During this process, Park Kyung's side requested that the settlement details remain confidential. We were not only dissatisfied with the amount but also couldn't accept the confidentiality request." He explained, "We believed it was our duty to inform the public about the lawsuit results. As the victims of defamation, we couldn't agree to the confidentiality request."

Previously, in November 2019, Park Kyung stirred controversy by posting on his Twitter, "I also want to manipulate charts like Vibe, Song Ha-ye, Lim Jae-hyun, Jeon Sang-geun, Jang Deok-cheol, and Hwang In-wook." The mentioned artists denied the allegations and sued Park Kyung for spreading false information and defamation. The court fined Park Kyung 5 million won for violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection.

Later, among these artists, Lim Jae-hyun claimed he suffered defamation and emotional distress due to Park Kyung's post and filed a lawsuit in November of the following year, seeking 100 million won in damages. Lim Jae-hyun's side stated that they had hoped for a sincere apology from Park Kyung for three years after the incident but decided to file the lawsuit after it didn't materialize.

Lim Jae-hyun, a ballad singer who debuted in 2017, began to gain attention when his song "If There Was Practice in Love" made a surprising comeback on the charts in March 2019, even though it initially failed to chart upon its 2018 release. Park Kyung raised suspicions of chart manipulation regarding this song. Later, Lim Jae-hyun sang "Heaven" for the OST of the KBS N drama "The Beginning is the First Kiss" and received much love.

On the other hand, Park Kyung debuted in the music industry as a member of the group Block B in 2011 and has been actively participating not only as a singer but also in various entertainment programs. Following the chart manipulation controversy, he apologized and enlisted in the military after another controversy regarding school violence arose. Initially, he was scheduled to be discharged in April of the previous year, but due to health reasons, he transitioned to a public service worker and was discharged in September. He has not been active in the entertainment industry since.

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