In response to the recent controversy regarding YouTuber 'Gu Je Yeok' receiving 55 million KRW (~38,997.09 USD) from fellow YouTuber 'Tzuyang', Gu Je Yeok has clarified that the money was intended as compensation for protecting Tzuyang’s past. He has committed to returning the full amount as soon as possible.

Gu Je Yeok made this statement on his YouTube channel's community page, where he also issued a heartfelt apology. "I deeply apologize for failing to protect Tzuyang's right to be forgotten and for paying YouTubers to prevent the release of videos exposing her," he wrote.

Explaining the circumstances, Gu Je Yeok recounted, "Around February last year, I received an anonymous tip about Tzuyang from someone believed to be her former agency's representative. The tip contained malicious information about Tzuyang, and since the details were very specific, I informed her agency to verify the facts."

He continued, "I also discovered that Tzuyang was being threatened by this person. However, because the tip was anonymous, I couldn’t reveal the tipster's identity, making it impossible to file a complaint against the former agency representative."

Gu Je Yeok revealed that Tzuyang's agency had asked him to identify the tipster and prevent the information from being exposed. "The person presumed to be the former agency's representative had already sent the information to dozens of anonymous YouTubers. I contacted these YouTubers to gather the information and identified the tipster, which I then reported to the agency."

He further explained, "The controversial recording with YouTuber Jeong Kukjin happened while I was building rapport with YouTubers who had negative feelings towards Tzuyang to obtain the tipster's information. All the information I gathered was handed over to Tzuyang's agency."

Gu Je Yeok admitted that the tip had already spread widely, and to prevent YouTubers from making videos, he felt compelled to pay them. "At the time, I foolishly thought that paying YouTubers was the only way to stop the videos," he confessed. "I used my own money to pay the support funds, but as more YouTubers demanded money in exchange for not making videos, I couldn't handle it financially. I then requested support from Tzuyang’s agency, which helped stop the production of such videos."

He concluded, "Although the money I received was meant as compensation for protecting Tzuyang's past, I haven’t been able to perform the task properly. Therefore, I will return the full amount to Tzuyang as soon as possible."

However, netizens are skeptical of Gu Je Yeok's claims and pointed out, "So in conclusion, he didn’t make the exposé himself but received 55 million won under the pretext of monitoring his close acquaintances to prevent them from exposing anything. However, due to his mistake, the recording ended up with a person named Akan, who, along with Pansook, revealed it, making them the bad guys for causing secondary harm. Is that correct?"

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