CHA GA WON: The second hearing of her trial was held

The 23rd Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court held the second hearing of the case concerning CHA GA WON, accused of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (Fraud). On this day, representative CHA GA WON was present alongside her lawyer.

During the hearing, the court confirmed that CHA GA WON’s side did not wish for a trial with citizen participation, denied the facts alleged in the indictment whose grounds will be specified later, and had requested the rejection of the request for a compensation order of 5.41 billion won filed by Mr. Jang, a victim related to the lease security deposit. It then declared:

“The request for a postponement of the hearing motivated by a change of lawyer has not been accepted.”

The court then indicated to the prosecutor regarding the facts of the indictment related to Mr. Jang: “If only for the defense rights of the accused, the content of the fraudulent maneuvers should be specified. Although the facts will be verified after the questioning of witnesses, they must be clarified to a certain extent.”

Subsequently, representative CHA GA WON’s side stated: “We acknowledge the receipt of funds from Frommus or Mr. Jang”, while adding: “But during the process of receiving the funds, there were no fraudulent maneuvers as stated in the indictment, and there was no fraudulent intent.” She continued by explaining: “Regarding the relationship with Frommus, we followed existing normal methods, and both parties agreed that a new contract would begin at the end of the previous one, but no confirmation had been given regarding the exact start date of that contract”, also specifying: “There was never any question of a substantial pre-contract with FROMIS_9, and it had been stipulated in the contract that outside of FROMIS_9, such a contract could be concluded with other artists.”

Then, the prosecutor requested the summoning of 3 witnesses for the next session, and it was decided to also perform the questioning of Mr. Jang, setting the next hearing for December 7.

Previously, the tax crime investigation department of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office had incarcerated and indicted representative CHA GA WON on August 25, and the financial crime investigation division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s crime investigation squad had referred her to the prosecution under an arrest warrant on the 7th of the same month.

Representative CHA GA WON is suspected of having proposed a business using the intellectual property (IP) rights of her agency’s celebrities to the corporation Frommus, concluding a contract, and receiving 24.2 billion won in advance payment without actually executing the project. The scale of damages reportedly amounts to approximately 30 billion won.

In addition, she is accused of having agreed with an acquaintance to conclude reciprocal leases on their respective residences and receiving 5.41 billion won in security deposits, without having honored the contract herself. However, representative CHA GA WON’s side denied these suspicions, asserting that they were part of an attempted hostile takeover (M&A) against ONE HUNDRED.

During the previous first hearing, representative CHA GA WON appeared in court in black attire, her face covered with a mask, in detention status.

The prosecution explained: “The accused extorted 5.5 billion won under the pretext of a down payment by promising the vice president of Frommus the concert contract of artist TAEMIN, and extorted the same amount by promising the merchandise (goods) distribution contract of TAEMIN. She is also accused of having extorted 12.1 billion won by promising the manufacturing and distribution of merchandise for CBX. She is furthermore accused of having extorted 1.1 billion won by lying about the allocation of projects related to FROMIS_9.”

The prosecution also added that representative CHA GA WON had extorted 5.2 billion won by inciting artists from her agency to take out lease guarantee loans and promising them to move in.

Representative CHA GA WON’s lawyer stated regarding the accusations: “Our position is to deny all the facts of the indictment.” However, needing time to examine the case files, opinions on the evidence will be presented during the next hearing.

Subsequently, representative CHA GA WON’s side requested of the court: “Please reject the request for a compensation order filed by Mr. Jang (victim of the lease security deposit fraud).”

Regarding this, representative CHA GA WON’s side argued: “Since Mr. Jang is a person with enforceable opposable rights under the Residential Tenancy Act, one may question whether he can be considered a victim”, adding: “Restitution being possible through the villa, our position is that neither deception nor claim for damages is admissible. The explanation between the fraudulent maneuvers and the extorted amount does not seem sufficient.”

On the other hand, Mr. Jang’s side objected: “Mr. Jang was genuinely the victim of a fraud”, adding: “The value of the said villa is not high and significant amounts are encumbered by priority claims and mortgages. In the event of liquidation by auction or otherwise, the amount the victim will be able to recover is not high.”

Representative CHA GA WON, coming from the chairmanship of real estate development group P-ARK, co-founded ONE HUNDRED in 2023 jointly with MC MONG. The agency included among its artists THE BOYZ, LEE SEUNG GI, LEE MUJIN, VIVIZ, CBX, but these filed a series of lawsuits, notably for exclusive contract termination, due to issues of unpaid income.

It was also reported that representative CHA GA WON filed a lawsuit claiming reimbursement of a 12 billion won loan against MC MONG, who left the company after conflicts.