[News Today] TZUYANG ON ABUSIVE EX-PARTNER

[LEAD]
Popular mukbang YouTuber, known as Tzuyang, whose real name is Park Jung-won, has alleged she was subjected to physical assault and blackmail by her former boyfriend over several years. Some YouTubers have also threatened to expose her ordeal. The prosecution has now initiated an investigation into these YouTubers

[REPORT]
I enjoyed a great meal today!

Mukbang YouTuber Park Jung-won has been working under the name Tzuyang since 2018.

She remains one of the most in-demand
mukbang YouTubers with more than
ten million subscribers. She recently came out to reveal she had been physically assaulted and blackmailed by her ex-boyfriend.

Tzuyang (Park Jung-won) / YouTuber
He strong-armed me to stay with him using explicit videos of me as a threat.
I was assaulted repeatedly.

She also claimed that her ex-boyfriend forced her to work at a bar and after she started mukbang videos, he named himself the CEO of her management agency and stole at least four billion won in profit.

She said that such nightmarish days continued for four years.

Tzuyang (Park Jung-won) / YouTuber
It felt disgraceful to be even mentioned in a passing rumor. But, I'm coming
forward now so that it can be put to rest.

She eventually took legal actions against her ex-boyfriend, but he took his own life in April 2023 and the case was closed.

But then, one YouTube channel claimed that she was again threatened by select YouTubers to disclose her past.

If this is proven true, it would mean that the victim of dating violence also faced secondary victimization.

Kim Do-yeon / Dir., Korea Dating Violence Institute
It is considered a serious assault on the mind to abuse a victim's psychological
vulnerability and make threats with it.

The YouTubers who were accused of secondary victimization all denied the allegations.

The prosecution said that complaints against the accused YouTubers were received and an investigation was launched promptly.