CEO Cha Ga-won of the entertainment agency One Hundred has been arrested on charges of fraud exceeding 30 billion won.
According to legal sources, a chief judge at the Seoul Central District Court issued the arrest warrant after conducting a pre-arrest interrogation on Cha, who is accused of fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, stating there is a risk of evidence destruction.
Cha is alleged to have received an advance payment of 24.2 billion won from Nomore Co. by proposing a business utilizing the intellectual property (IP) of affiliated artists, but failed to execute the actual business.
Police have determined that Cha concealed the uncertain end date of existing contracts with other companies while entering into double contracts, and was not even prepared to carry out the business.
Additionally, it has been reported that Cha began the agency business while already burdened with significant debt, and allegedly engaged in a practice known as 'contract splitting' to manage the debt.
Cha's legal team has denied all allegations, indicating that a court battle is expected.
Previously, police had applied for arrest warrants twice, but they were rejected due to the prosecution's request for supplementary investigations. Following further investigations, including account tracking and contract analysis, police successfully secured Cha's arrest on their third attempt, which is expected to enhance the momentum of the ongoing investigation.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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