KOR
The legal camp of ONE HUNDRED CEO Cha Ga-won, who is facing an arrest warrant request by police over fraud allegations totaling 30 billion won, has raised issues regarding how the warrant request was leaked to the media and the propriety of the investigation procedures, rather than offering a detailed refutation of the charges themselves.
On June 15, Attorney Hyun Dong-yeop, Cha's legal representative, released a video titled "Emergency Position Regarding the Arrest Warrant Request for Chairman Cha Ga-won" on his YouTube channel.
The Financial Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency recently requested an arrest warrant for Cha on charges including fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. Police suspect that Cha received an advance payment of approximately 24.2 billion won during the process of signing an IP business contract with knowmerce, but failed to properly execute the business. Additionally, Cha is reportedly facing separate fraud charges amounting to 5.4 billion won in connection with a lease deposit (jeonse) contract.
Following this, Attorney Hyun stated on his YouTube channel, "Some media outlets knew about the warrant request before even I, the suspect's attorney, did," naming specific reporters and media outlets. He claimed, "I received confirmation calls from Chosun Ilbo reporters starting in the morning. It is hard to understand how the media knew about something that even the suspect's attorney was unaware of."
He went on to demand that a specific media outlet "reveal how they obtained this information," raising suspicions of a potential information leak between the media and investigative authorities. He also expressed deep regret, saying, "It is highly regrettable that they requested an arrest warrant while a quasi-appeal has been filed due to confirmed illegalities during the search and seizure process." He added, "We plan to file a petition with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea against the investigation team leader and investigators, citing human rights violations during the investigation process."
However, during the broadcast, Attorney Hyun did not elaborate on specific evidence or factual details regarding the 30 billion won fraud allegations cited by the police as grounds for the arrest warrant. Instead, when the news of the police's warrant request broke in the media, he had previously stated, "It is questionable whether the police properly understand the legal principles and facts of the case."
This method of response shares similarities with the reaction previously shown by singer MC Mong ahead of the broadcast of MBC's "PD Note."
During a live broadcast held last month before the airing of "PD Note," MC Mong raised suspicions regarding the verification of informants, the production crew, and reporters, naming specific individuals. He also mentioned past reports on draft-dodging allegations and the production crew's potential violation of the Kim Young-ran Act (Anti-Graft Act) but failed to provide a concrete refutation of the core allegations raised in the broadcast. Even after the show aired, he has continued his TikTok live broadcast activities without offering any specific counterarguments to the content.
Meanwhile, in an additional teaser video released on June 16, Attorney Hyun hinted at raising new issues by disclosing KakaoTalk chat logs of individuals associated with the accuser. Referencing a KakaoTalk conversation between BPM's Chief Financial Officer and an associate from the accuser, knowmerce, Attorney Hyun argued that "the credibility of the witness statements must be re-examined."
The prosecution plans to decide whether to request the warrant from the court after reviewing the arrest warrant requested by the police and the investigation records.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)