YouTube has removed the channel of South Korean creator Kagwang, who had about 470,000 subscribers, amid allegations that he abused and financially exploited a woman believed to have an intellectual disability during a livestream in Thailand.
A notice uploaded to the channel on Friday said the streaming platform removed it for violating its community guidelines, and its videos were no longer available. It was not immediately clear whether the removal was linked to the abuse allegations.
The allegations against Kagwang, whose real name is Lee Sang-il, spread across online communities and social media after being raised at a National Assembly audit on Monday.
Rep. Kim Ye-ji of the main opposition People Power Party called for a police investigation into allegations that a YouTuber and others involved in the livestreams had jointly abused and financially exploited the woman during their trip to Thailand.
The woman was recovering from hip replacement surgery when she appeared in the livestreams, according to Rep. Kim. Those involved allegedly damaged her crutches, deprived her of food and sleep and forced her to drink alcohol.
She was also allegedly prevented from leaving despite asking to go home. They also reportedly took more than 10 million won ($7,500) from her, citing reasons related to her livestream appearances and viewer donations.
“If they subjected a vulnerable woman to human rights abuses to profit from online content, that would constitute a serious crime,” Rep. Kim said during an audit held by the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee.
Lee denied the allegations, saying the scenes had been staged with the woman’s consent.
junheee@heraldcorp.com
