[Sportschosun Bae Ji-eun] The side of Cha Gawon, CEO of ONE HUNDRED, has stated its position on the statement issued by employees of the three companies.
Hyun Dong-yeop, a lawyer at Hwageum Law Firm and Cha's legal representative, said, "We have confirmed that Director Seo is currently inciting employees, and that the statement by employees of the three companies was drafted and distributed under the leadership of Lee Seung-gi's manager."
He added, "In accordance with the corrective order issued by the labor inspector at the competent local labor office, the unpaid wages will be paid within the designated deadline. The funds needed for this have also been fully secured." He also claimed, "Unfortunately, employees are unable to receive their wages because of malicious agitation by some board members who are under suspicion of embezzlement and breach of trust. In the case of Director Seo, he received three months' worth of his own salary in advance even while ordinary employees were not being paid. Although he was unable to receive only 1 million won, which is far below the amount of unpaid wages owed to other employees, he has shown contradictory behavior by filing a complaint with the labor office."
He also said, "Even if a letter of non-punishment is written, it has no legal effect unless it is accompanied by a transfer confirmation proving that the wages were actually paid. We strongly urge that any further distortion of the facts and spread of misinformation on this matter stop immediately."
Earlier, employees of the three companies, including ONE HUNDRED, Big Planet Made Entertainment, and INB100 Entertainment, issued a statement saying they had been suffering severe financial hardship for months because they had not received their salaries, four major insurance payments, or severance pay, and that Cha's side had mocked the victims by telling them to write a letter of non-punishment if they wanted to be paid.
In response, MOEL launched an investigation to determine whether Cha forced affected employees to write letters of non-punishment. The Seoul Gangnam District Office of the Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to file a complaint with the police against Cha if any illegal conduct is uncovered. Requiring a signature on a letter of non-punishment as a condition for wage payment may constitute coercion under the Criminal Act. MOEL has been conducting a full investigation into wage arrears involving ONE HUNDRED and related companies since April.
Separately, authorities requested an arrest warrant for Cha on charges including fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, and also sought a travel ban. Cha is accused of signing a contract with Knowmerce Corp. while not being in a position to prepare a business using the intellectual property rights of artists under his agency, receiving 24.2 billion won as an advance payment, and then failing to carry out the business. He is also accused of receiving a 5.4 billion won deposit after agreeing to a mutual lease contract with an acquaintance, while failing to fulfill the contract himself.
Cha denied all of the allegations and explained that the various suspicions surrounding ONE HUNDRED were baseless speculation raised during a hostile takeover attempt.
Bae Ji-eun, silk781220@sportschosun.com
