Ju Haknyeon, a former member of the K-pop group THE BOYZ, has won a civil damages case against the entertainment reporter whose 2025 story alleged a paid sexual encounter in Tokyo. On Oct. 23, 2026, the Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Division 25 ordered the reporter to pay 200 million won, or roughly $140,000, in damages.
The decision is more than a legal footnote. It is a formal court finding that the report behind his exit from THE BOYZ was false, and it landed long after the industry fallout had already played out. What the Ju Haknyeon lawsuit ruling restores, and what it leaves untouched, is now the central question for fans.
Inside the Ju Haknyeon Lawsuit Ruling
Ju originally sued the reporter, identified in Korean coverage as A, for 1 billion won. He argued that the story was false, and the court ruled partly in his favor. The 200 million won award was reported at roughly $140,000 to $151,000 depending on the exchange rate used.
Civil Division 25, presided over by Judge Kwon Ki-man, found that both of the report’s central claims were false: that Ju had paid for a sexual encounter, and that he had later admitted to it. The evidence the reporter submitted did not establish reasonable grounds to believe the story was true before it was published, the court held.
The ruling’s sharpest line addressed how the story was built. “It is an excessive leap of logic to infer prostitution solely from the facts A says he confirmed during the reporting process before writing the article,” the court said.
Why the Court Rejected the Reporter’s Defense
The reporter argued that the story was true or that there were reasonable grounds to believe it, pointing to conversations with Cha Ga-won, the CEO of ONE HUNDRED Label, which was Ju’s agency at the time. The court rejected that defense.
According to the ruling, the reporter simply presented the draft article and sought confirmation. He did not verify whether any specific evidence of the alleged encounter existed. The court also noted that he published a story capable of seriously damaging the reputation and social standing of an idol singer without making adequate efforts to check the facts.
That failure carried a price. The court found that the reporter “defamed Mr. Ju by specifying false facts in the article,” and that Ju suffered significant mental harm as a result.
A Timeline From Report to Ruling
The case moved on two tracks at once, one public and one legal. For anyone searching why Ju Haknyeon left THE BOYZ, the short answer is that ONE HUNDRED announced his departure in the same month the 2025 report appeared, long before any court reviewed the claim. Here is how the sequence unfolded.
- June 2025: The report alleging a paid sexual encounter in Tokyo is published. Ju denies it and suspends activities.
- June 2025: ONE HUNDRED announces his departure from THE BOYZ and the termination of his exclusive contract.
- 2025: Ju files a 1 billion won damages lawsuit against the reporter.
- May 2026: The reporter is indicted without detention on criminal defamation charges tied to the same story.
- Oct. 23, 2026: The Seoul Central District Court orders 200 million won in damages in the civil case.
What the Ruling Changes and What It Does Not
What it changes: A court has now formally found the report’s core claims false and attached financial liability to the reputational and emotional damage. For an artist whose career was interrupted by an allegation, that is a documented correction on the public record.
What it does not change: The ruling does not restore Ju’s THE BOYZ membership, and it does not undo the exclusive contract ONE HUNDRED terminated. It also does not decide the reporter’s separate criminal case. No new agency, comeback, or music project has been confirmed in coverage of the verdict.
Reporting from Mid-Day has also described a wider dispute between Ju and ONE HUNDRED, including roughly 8 billion won in penalties and damages sought by the agency, and Ju’s own claims that the company pressured him into a termination agreement and leaked information to media. That outlet reported that a court dismissed the agency’s damages claim in July 2026. Those details come from a single outlet and are not confirmed in the other coverage of the civil ruling.
Civil Damages, Criminal Defamation, and a Contract
The three tracks in this case are easy to blur together, and separating them explains why a clear win can still feel incomplete. The civil case was about money. Ju sued the reporter, a court weighed the evidence, and damages were awarded based on whether the reporter had reasonable grounds to believe the story.
The criminal case is separate. The reporter was indicted without detention in May on charges of defaming Ju by publishing false information, and the charge is tied to South Korea’s Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection. That means he is standing trial while not in custody, and the two cases can produce different outcomes.
At an early criminal hearing, the reporter admitted publishing the article but denied intent to spread false information or any malicious intent, and he again cited his conversations with Cha Ga-won. A civil ruling does not automatically determine how a criminal trial ends.
Contract termination is a third track entirely. ONE HUNDRED’s decision to end Ju’s exclusive contract was a private business action taken in June 2025, months before any court weighed the allegation. Court rulings do not automatically reverse a company’s decision to cut ties, which is why the verdict corrects the record without returning his position.
What Fans Will Be Watching Next
Several questions remain open, and none of them were settled on Oct. 23. It is not yet clear whether the reporter will appeal the civil decision or how the criminal trial will conclude. A public statement from Ju or his representatives has not been reported.
The larger question is professional. Whether Ju returns to music, signs with a new agency, or speaks directly to his former group’s fandom is not confirmed in the current coverage. What the ruling does establish is a clearer starting point than he had a year ago: a court has said the story that ended one chapter of his career was false. What comes next has not been announced.