Yoon Ji-oh, who claimed to have been a witness to the sexual abuse and corruption scandal surrounding late actress Jang Ja-yeon, is facing a lawsuit from people who donated funds to help pay for her protection, according to a law firm Wednesday.

The Seoul-based law firm Law & Us said the donation totaled around 10 million won ($8,500), collected from some 370 individuals.

Yoon Ji-oh is facing a lawsuit from people who helped fund her protection, according to law firm Law & Us Wednesday. (Yonhap)

On March 18, Yoon posted on Instagram that she would receive donations and provided her bank account information. She cited “personal security service costs to be used against safety threats” as purpose for the fund.

Yoon left for Canada on April 24 and has stayed there ever since. Two days later, she was sued by Kim Soo-min, a writer who helped with the publication of Yoon’s memoir documenting the 10 years since Jang’s death, for “deceiving the public and raising profit through donation.”

Jang committed suicide in 2009, leaving behind a note in which she claimed her agency forced her to provide sexual services to high-ranking corporate executives and entertainment industry figures. Yoon was signed by the same agency at the time.

By Kim Arin (arin@heraldcorp.com)