Lee Seung-gi's legal team calls W10.5b jeonse dispute 'criminal fraud'

Singer and actor Lee Seung-gi. [Herald POP (now Herald Muse)]

The legal team representing singer and actor Lee Seung-gi has characterized the failure to return a 10.5 billion won ($7.37 million) jeonse, or long-term lease deposit, as "criminal in nature," targeting Cha Ga-won, chairman of Piac Group.

Law firm Hyeonmyeong, acting as Lee's legal representative, issued a statement Thursday saying the team "considers the non-return of the jeonse deposit to be not merely a civil breach of obligation but a matter falling within the realm of criminal conduct."

The legal team said it appeared that "a sophisticated fraud scheme was strategically employed — inducing a well-known celebrity to take out a large loan, entering into a high-value jeonse contract, and then misappropriating the deposit," adding that "the nature of the offense is even more egregious than a typical jeonse fraud."

The statement also said the property appraisal had initially been conducted under the title "Lee Tae-min collateral" before ultimately proceeding as "Lee Seung-gi collateral." It said the jeonse contract appeared to have been prepared with advance knowledge that a loan of approximately 7.3 billion won would be executed, with the contract structured accordingly.

Cha Ga-won, head of entertainment agency One Hundred Label. [Yonhap]

Lee's legal team said Cha and his spouse transferred ownership of the real estate from a trust company immediately after receiving the jeonse deposit.

The team said it believed Cha "had deliberately planned a fraudulent scheme in which the loan proceeds were spent for personal use, with no intention of returning them upon the expiration of the jeonse contract."

The team said that just days earlier, Lee's side had been notified that "there would be no issue with returning the jeonse deposit," calling that assurance "nothing but empty words." It said that on Thursday — the day the contract expired — Cha's spouse told Lee's side that "the return of the jeonse deposit is impossible due to the absence of Cha Ga-won, the contracting party," effectively evading responsibility.

Lee's legal team said it would "work toward securing severe punishment for Cha Ga-won's side, while also doing its utmost to support the artist's entertainment activities."

Lee signed a jeonse contract in 2024 for a luxury villa in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, owned by Cha and his spouse, with a deposit of 10.5 billion won — among the highest jeonse transactions in the market at the time. Of that amount, 7.3 billion won was financed through a bank loan. Lee and Baekhyun, a member of K-pop group EXO, are each living in the property under separate jeonse contracts.

Cha was detained Monday on charges of proposing an intellectual property-based project involving his agency's artists to Nomuss Co., signing a contract, receiving an advance payment of 24.2 billion won and then failing to carry out the project.

dbsdn1110@heraldcorp.com