Singer and actor Lee Seung Gi's side said they have not yet received the jeonse deposit from Cha Ga-won and alleged fraud.
On the 6th, Lee Seung Gi's legal representatives, Yun Yong-seok and Jang Jae-won of Law Office Hyeonmyeong, said, "In addition to the recent arrest of Cha Ga-won, today is also the expiration date of the jeonse contract between the artist and Cha Ga-won, and because we have received many inquiries regarding this, we have no choice but to organize and present the related matters in the form of a statement," and announced the official position regarding the jeonse contract signed with Cha Ga-won, chairman of p_Arc Group and CEO of One Hundred.
The legal representatives said, "The artist (hereinafter the artist) believes that Cha Ga-won's failure to return the jeonse deposit is not simply a civil debt default but falls within the realm of criminal activity. We commonly call 'receiving a jeonse deposit and embezzling it despite having no intention or ability to return it' 'jeonse fraud,'" and added, "In this case, beyond merely lacking the intention or ability to return the deposit to the lessor, it appears a 'sophisticated fraud technique' was 'strategically employed' to have a famous entertainer take out a large loan, enter into a high-value jeonse contract, and then embezzle that deposit."
They continued, "In particular, even before the jeonse contract was signed, and at a time when the artist was not even considering a jeonse contract, it appears Cha Ga-won's side was preparing to arrange a jeonse loan in the artist's name. Cha Ga-won's side had already sold the unit to Hyorim Industry in the 7 billion won range but suddenly canceled the sales contract, hid this fact, and carried out an appraisal intending to make a jeonse contract with the agency artist at a price higher than the previous sale price under the title 'Lee Seung Gi collateral property.' Accordingly, it appears they prepared the jeonse contract knowing that a loan of about 7.3 billion won would be executed before the loan screening proceeded."
They also said, "Immediately after receiving the jeonse deposit, the Cha Ga-won couple received ownership of the high-value property from the trust company. In view of these circumstances, it appears Cha Ga-won's side, while seeking the source of funds needed to acquire the property, planned a fraud scheme in which they would have a famous entertainer obtain a large jeonse loan, personally use that loan, and then not return it at the end of the jeonse contract," and added, "The factual relationships and charges will become clear through subsequent investigations by investigative agencies."
The legal representatives pointed out, "Although Cha Ga-won has been arrested, the accomplices who aided him are still enjoying the proceeds of his crimes without remorse. Even looking only at this jeonse contract matter, it appears Cha Ga-won's spouse, real estate brokers, loan and appraisal participants, and other conspirators each played their roles like cogs in a machine."
Regarding Cha Ga-won's legal representatives' court statement that 'the jeonse deposit will be returned without issue,' the legal representatives said Cha Ga-won's side had notified Lee Seung Gi's side only a few days earlier that 'there is no problem returning the jeonse deposit,' but they were later told by a close associate of Cha Ga-won that 'returning the deposit is impossible because the contracting party Cha Ga-won is absent.' Lee Seung Gi trusted this and incurred expenses preparing to move, but those expenses have become losses.
They added, "Cha Ga-won's arrest has allowed several staff members and artists to feel some relief. However, many crimes committed by the criminal group centered on Cha Ga-won remain, and further investigations are expected to continue. We will strive for severe punishment of Cha Ga-won to prevent recurrence of such crimes and will also do our best in the artist's core entertainment activities."
Meanwhile, on July 2024 Lee Seung Gi signed a jeonse contract for a 255 square meter house in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, with a jeonse deposit of 10.5 billion won. The house is owned by Cha Ga-won, the largest shareholder of Big Planet Made Entertainment, his agency. The building was constructed by p_Arc Group construction company p_Arc Construction, and Cha Ga-won and his spouse purchased and own all four units. Of these, two units were entrusted to a trust company, and the two directly managed units are those for which Lee Seung Gi signed the jeonse contract. In the process, Lee Seung Gi registered a mortgage right of 8.76 billion won. Since the maximum claim amount is usually set at about 120% of the loan amount, it is estimated that Lee Seung Gi borrowed about 7.3 billion won, which is 83% of the jeonse price.
However, in March, Lee Seung Gi notified his agency of contract termination citing breach of exclusive contract, including unpaid staff costs, causing a dispute. Meanwhile, last month an MBC PD Note broadcast reported circumstances suggesting Lee Seung Gi may have been a victim of jeonse fraud by Cha Ga-won. Lee Seung Gi's side told PD Note that "Cha Ga-won proposed the jeonse contract first, delayed confirmation of the contract amount, and after the move set a jeonse deposit three times higher than originally discussed," and alleged Cha Ga-won broke promises to pay the loan interest. Cha Ga-won's side countered that the jeonse was provided as collateral in the form of a contract deposit when signing an exclusive contract with Lee Seung Gi and that it was offered as jeonse rather than ownership because Lee Seung Gi is a multiple-home owner and this was to avoid tax burdens.
Meanwhile, Cha Ga-won was arrested on the 3rd on fraud charges. He is accused of receiving 24.2 billion won in advance payments after signing a business contract using the intellectual property of entertainers from Nomers Co. and the entertainment agency he runs, but failing to carry out the actual business. The reported scale of the damage is about 30 billion won.
below is the full official statement from Lee Seung Gi's side.
Hello. We are Yun Yong-seok and Jang Jae-won of Law Office Hyeonmyeong, legal representatives of Lee Seung Gi.
On behalf of Lee Seung Gi (hereinafter "the artist"), we present the official position regarding Cha Ga-won's arrest and the jeonse contract.
First, although the issue related to the jeonse contract between the artist and Cha Ga-won is a deeply personal matter unrelated to entertainment activities, it has been frequently reported, and we understand some people may be fatigued by this. The artist has treated the 'unsettled payments to staff' as the most serious issue among the various problems related to Cha Ga-won, followed by the 'exclusive contract dispute' related to normalizing entertainment activities. Although the 'jeonse contract issue' involves the largest amount of damage among the problems, the artist considered preventing harm to innocent staff and restoring entertainment activities more important than the artist's personal property damage.
However, in addition to Cha Ga-won's recent arrest, today is also the expiration date of the jeonse contract between the artist and Cha Ga-won, and because we have received many inquiries regarding this, we have had no choice but to organize and present the related matters in the form of a statement.
Above all, the artist believes Cha Ga-won's failure to return the jeonse deposit is not simply a civil debt default but falls within the realm of criminal activity.
Although not a formal legal term, we commonly call 'receiving a jeonse deposit and embezzling it despite having no intention or ability to return it' 'jeonse fraud.' There is also broad social consensus that punishment for this type of crime should be strengthened. In this case, beyond merely lacking the intention or ability to return the deposit to the lessor, it appears a 'sophisticated fraud technique' was 'strategically employed' to have a famous entertainer take out a large loan, enter into a high-value jeonse contract, and then embezzle that deposit. Therefore, this case is of worse quality than ordinary jeonse fraud where the deposit is simply reused and not returned.
In particular, even before the jeonse contract was signed, and at a time when the artist was not even considering a jeonse contract, it appears Cha Ga-won's side was preparing to arrange a jeonse loan in the artist's name. Cha Ga-won's side had already sold the unit to Hyorim Industry in the 7 billion won range but suddenly canceled the sales contract, hid this fact, and carried out an appraisal under the title 'Lee Tae-min collateral property' and ultimately proceeded with an appraisal as 'Lee Seung Gi collateral property.' Accordingly, it appears they prepared the jeonse contract knowing that a loan of about 7.3 billion won would be executed before the loan screening proceeded. And immediately after receiving the jeonse deposit, the Cha Ga-won couple received ownership of the high-value property from the trust company. In view of these circumstances, it appears Cha Ga-won's side, while seeking the source of funds needed to acquire the property, planned a fraud scheme in which they would have a famous entertainer obtain a large jeonse loan, personally use that loan, and then not return it at the end of the jeonse contract. We expect the factual relationships and charges to become clear through subsequent investigations by investigative agencies.
Meanwhile, although Cha Ga-won has been arrested, the accomplices who aided him are still enjoying the proceeds of his crimes without remorse. Even looking only at this jeonse contract matter, it appears Cha Ga-won's spouse, real estate brokers, loan and appraisal participants, and other conspirators each played their roles like cogs in a machine.
Also, Cha Ga-won's legal representatives recently proclaimed in the solemn courtroom that 'the jeonse deposit will be returned without issue,' and only a few days ago they notified the artist's side that 'there is no problem returning the jeonse deposit,' but this was mere false talk. Today Cha Ga-won's spouse said, 'Returning the jeonse deposit is impossible because the contracting party Cha Ga-won is absent,' evading responsibility. Considering the spouse also conducted most legal acts with Cha Ga-won, this shows a complete lack of conscience. The artist trusted this and incurred expenses preparing to move, but those expenses have become losses.
In particular, Cha Ga-won's legal representatives publicly boasted on a YouTube video that '(when ascertaining the facts) the client should be thoroughly investigated,' and 'I will defend Chairman Cha Ga-won almost to the death,' claiming there are no secrets between them and their client. If so, the legal representatives cannot continue to feign ignorance regarding Cha Ga-won's repeated lies. [It is unclear whether the legal representatives who previously declared 'if Cha Ga-won is arrested I will quit practicing law' will continue to handle related responses in the future].
Cha Ga-won's arrest has allowed several staff members and artists to feel some relief. However, many crimes committed by the criminal group centered on Cha Ga-won remain, and further investigations are expected to continue.
The artist will work to ensure severe punishment of Cha Ga-won to prevent recurrence of such crimes and will also do their best in their core entertainment activities.
Thank you.<
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]