[Sportschosun reporter Jung Yoo-na] As singer and actor Lee Seung-gi and PIAK Group Chairman Cha Ga-won's side remain locked in a dispute over a luxury villa lease worth 10.5 billion won, Cha's side argued that this was not a lease scam but a "false exclusive contract scam" caused by the company’s financial difficulties.
On the 11th, a video titled "The Secret Behind MBC and Lee Seung-gi's Hannam-dong Lease Scam" was uploaded to the YouTube channel "Hyun Dong-yeop's Highest Guard," run by attorney Hyun Dong-yeop, legal representative for Cha Ga-won.
That day, attorney Hyun watched footage from MBC's "PD Note," which aired on the 2nd, and stated his position on the allegations.
First, Hyun explained, "Construction of Ranubo Phase 1 began in 2021, and sales started at the same time. Sales continued, and the occupancy permit was issued in September 2023. Unit 101 was acquired by Chairman Cha Ga-won and his spouse, while Unit 201 was sold to H Development for more than 10 billion won. Unit 301 was purchased by someone well known in software. Phase 2 began in 2022, and Unit 401 continued to be used as a showroom. Then, in the second half of 2023, Byun Baek-hyun moved into Unit 401 on a lease, in place of an exclusive contract payment."
Hyun stressed that MBC's "PD Note" and others were wrong to claim that the units had not been sold. "Phase 1 had already been fully sold, so I don't understand why they are saying that," he said. "One thing we felt while talking with PD Note was that they were framing it as if, because the units were unsold, the company entered the entertainment business and filled them with affiliated artists to solve the unsold inventory problem. I want to make it clear that this is not true."
Addressing Lee Seung-gi's residence, he said, "H Development owned the unit and still had to pay the balance, but while Lee Seung-gi was discussing an exclusive contract and related matters with us, he said, 'Chairman, please do the same for me as you did for Baekhyun.' It seems he was saying this on the assumption that he would not receive it as an in-kind payment. But that is not the case. Even in the addendum to the exclusive contract we signed, it states that Eterno would be received as an in-kind payment first." He then released an addendum stating that "the artist's exclusive contract payment will be made by the agency upon completion of Eterno 3rd, and any taxes and public charges arising from the subsequent provision shall be borne and handled separately by each party."
Hyun also said that Lee Seung-gi sent a response to a certified letter from his side, in which he claimed, "The appraised value was grossly inflated. It is fraud." He added, "The media frame makes it sound as if he came in thinking it was a 3 billion won lease. And it is also said that he moved in because they kept begging him, saying, 'Chairman Cha has nowhere to lean on, so let's live together and support each other.' But as far as I know, the lease contract was signed around August 2024." He continued, "Lee Seung-gi says he thought it was a 3 billion won lease, but after moving in, he found out it was 10.5 billion won. He said the price tripled and that no interest was paid. That is nothing more than malicious slander. The bank used the property as collateral and executed a 7.3 billion won loan. The market value was determined through a financial institution's appraisal."
Hyun also said that during the loan process, Lee Seung-gi sent messages about the appraisal, including, "Should we not worry about a desk appraisal?" and "I hope the appraisal goes through well." He then asked, "I want to ask Lee Seung-gi: were you hoping this appraisal would value the lease deposit at 3 billion won? Was that really your intention?"
He said, "When H Industries bought Unit 201, the sale price had already reached the 10 billion won range in 2022. Lee Seung-gi said he wanted the same treatment as Baekhyun, so Chairman Cha paid an extra 1 billion won to terminate the contract, took it over himself, and then placed Lee Seung-gi there." He added, "It was an investment based on Lee Seung-gi's future value, even though his image was not good at the time."
Hyun also argued that the so-called "10.5 billion won lease scam" claimed by Lee Seung-gi's side was not a lease scam at all. "This is not a lease scam. It is a 'false exclusive contract scam' in which he is trying to leave because the company is struggling," he said. "I think Lee Seung-gi is the one who is betraying the company and trying to get out by fabricating a scam to cancel the exclusive contract."
He further claimed that Lee Seung-gi did not receive the unit directly as his own property because he chose a lease arrangement to avoid the tax burden of being a multiple-home owner.
jyn2011@sportschosun.com
