Singer Lee Ha-neul criticized President Lee Jae-myung’s expression of no wish for punishment regarding Rhyu Si-min over defamation charges, complaining during a YouTube livestream that the official stance framed a basic right as an artificial favor, Korea JoongAng Daily reported.
The YouTube Livestream and the Defamation Charges
The controversy emerged on October 26, 2026, during a live broadcast on the YouTube channel “Grab King Lee Ha-neul.” Lee and Rhyu had recently returned from a fishing trip and were eating together when Lee noticed a comment in the live chat that triggered his frustration.
“I saw a disturbing post a moment ago, so I’m talking about it,” Lee told his viewers. “Now that the president has canceled it, people are starting to talk. But logically speaking, is that something to be punished and investigated?”
Lee questioned the nature of the presidential intervention. “‘I don’t want punishment’—does that make any sense?” he asked, adding that watching people treat the decision like an act of benevolence was annoying.
The legal dispute originated on September 22, 2026, when Rhyu appeared on a YouTube broadcast and criticized the administration’s prosecutorial reform initiatives. Rhyu claimed the president had “fooled the public until now,” arguing that the reform framework conflicted with presidential campaign promises and the existing stance of the Democratic Party of Korea.
Police Dismissal Following Presidential Intervention
Following Rhyu’s comments, the civic group Action for Civil Justice filed a police complaint accusing Rhyu of defamation by disseminating false facts.
The situation shifted when the presidential office conveyed a formal statement to the police on October 23, indicating that the president did not want Rhyu to be punished. Acting on that, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Public Crime Investigation Unit officially dismissed the case on October 27, 2026, under the legal status of “no right to prosecute.”
When Lee returned to Rhyu’s side during the broadcast and noted that the majority of viewers in the chat supported them, Rhyu dismissed the surrounding drama. “I’m not having a hard time, so why are you trying to comfort me?” Rhyu responded.
