Former The Boyz member Ju Haknyeon wins $140,000 defamation case against journalist after court rejects prostitution claims

The verdict comes over a year after the allegations led to Ju Haknyeon’s exit from K-pop group THE BOYZ.

Former The Boyz member Ju Haknyeon has won a defamation case against an entertainment reporter who linked him to prostitution. A South Korean court has ordered the journalist to pay 200 million won (around $140,000) in damages, ruling that the claims were published without enough evidence to support them. The verdict, delivered by the Seoul Central District Court's Civil Division 25 on October 23, comes more than a year after the allegations cost Haknyeon his place in the K-pop group, The Boyz and led to the termination of his contract with the agency One Hundred.

Court finds reporter failed to verify allegations

Former THE BOYZ member Ju Haknyeon has won a major legal battle over allegations that damaged his reputation and career.

According to legal sources cited by Yonhap News, Judge Kwon Ki Man ruled that reporter Choi had defamed Ju Haknyeon by claiming that the singer had paid for a sexual arrangement with a Japanese adult film actress and later admitted to it. The court found that the claims were false and that the reporter had not done enough to verify them before publishing the story.

The judge questioned how Choi had reached that conclusion, saying the information gathered during the reporting process was not enough to establish that prostitution had taken place. The court also stressed that the reporter should have taken greater care before publishing allegations that could seriously damage the singer's reputation. “It is difficult to conclude that Ju engaged in prostitution based solely on what Choi confirmed during the reporting process,” the court said, pointing to the lack of evidence to support the claim.

The court also took into account statements from people who attended the gathering, who said no money had been exchanged for sexual acts. The woman involved, a businesswoman and influencer with more than 2.8 million followers, had also denied the allegations through her agency. Considering these accounts and the circumstances of those involved, the court said it was “difficult to readily accept” that either party would have engaged in such conduct, given their respective positions.

How allegations led to his exit from THE BOYZ

The controversy began in June 2025, when Japanese tabloid Shukan Bunshun published photos of Ju Haknyeon with Asuka Kirara, a former adult video actor, at a bar in Tokyo. South Korean outlet TenAsia later alleged that the meeting involved a paid sexual arrangement, citing industry insiders. He denied the claims, but the damage to his career soon followed. He was removed from his K-pop group, and his agency terminated his exclusive contract on June 18, 2025, citing a clause related to conduct that could harm an artist's dignity.

Haknyeon later filed a 1-billion-won damages lawsuit against the reporter. On July 2, 2025, Seoul Gangnam Police Station cleared him of the prostitution allegations, citing a lack of evidence.

The ruling is a win for Ju Haknyeon, but his legal battle with his former agency is far from over. The agency has sought around 8 billion won in penalties and damages, while Ju has accused it of pressuring him into signing a termination agreement and leaking information to the media to force him out. In July 2026, a court dismissed the agency’s claim for damages, finding no valid grounds for terminating his contract.