"This kind of property registration extract is unprecedented," even experts shake their heads... Lee Seung-ki faces backlash for his explanation as criticism pours in [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

Singer and actor Lee Seung-ki (39) is being dragged into controversy over allegations that he paid a jeonse (lease deposit) three times higher than market value to help Cha Ga-won, chairman of One Hundred Label, inflate property prices.

On the night of the 2nd, the MBC current affairs and documentary program 'PD Notebook' covered various controversies surrounding Cha Ga-won and MC Mong. Cha Ga-won is the CEO of One Hundred Label and the representative of Piak Group, a real estate total service company.

On that day, the production team focused their investigation and reporting on allegations of an affair between Cha (Chairman) and MC Mong, as well as suspicions of gambling and embezzlement.

Among these, the A Villa project built by Cha Ga-won's Piak Group was also highlighted. Cha (Chairman) had previously drawn suspicion of inflating property prices by bringing in affiliated celebrities as tenants for a luxury villa project and collecting jeonse deposits more than three times the market rate. Earlier this January, the entertainment media The Fact reported, "Lee Seung-ki and Baekhyun are living in a luxury villa in Hannam-dong owned by Cha Ga-won, CEO of One Hundred Label, paying jeonse deposits of 10.5 billion won and 16 billion won, respectively. This is twice the highest jeonse price for villas in Seoul. At the time of signing the jeonse contracts, Lee Seung-ki and Baekhyun each received large loans of 7 billion won and 10 billion won in their own names." The report continued, "As a result, Cha Ga-won brought in affiliated celebrities, who are special related parties, as jeonse tenants in his villa, setting jeonse deposits that appear far higher than surrounding market rates, while Lee Seung-ki and Baekhyun received large loans. This could send a signal to the market that if famous celebrities are living in a place with such high jeonse prices, the sales price must be even higher."

Regarding this villa, the 'PD Notebook' production team stated, "All four units remain unsold. Currently, the property is still registered under the ownership of Cha (Chairman) and his spouse. Lee Seung-ki and Baekhyun are living there on jeonse, and we found something unusual in the property registration extract: a large loan was executed."

Appraiser Jo Jeong-heun remarked, "This kind of property registration extract is rare. I have never seen one like this before. If these individuals were not celebrities like Lee Seung-ki or Baekhyun, I wonder if such a large loan would have been approved."

'PD Notebook' reported, "The previous maximum loan amount was 3.6 billion won. However, by converting it into a celebrity jeonse loan, the loan scale increased by more than three times. The loan was not executed by a Seoul financial institutional investor, but by the Suhyup Bank located in Wando, South Jeolla Province." A Suhyup official stated, "We evaluated the loan based on the surrounding market and assessed whether Baekhyun had sufficient income and the ability to repay the interest."

A representative of the construction company told 'PD Notebook', "(Cha Ga-won) couldn't sell a single unit of that house, so he asked me to buy it for 10 billion won. He tried to persuade me, but I didn't buy it. That property is worth less than 5 billion won. He couldn't even sell one unit."

Lee Seung-ki's legal representative, attorney Yoon Yong-seok, stated, "(Cha Ga-won) initially recommended we sign a jeonse contract, but the agreed jeonse deposit amount was..."

"...but when the actual contract was signed later, the amount had increased several times over. Since this is logically unreasonable, when we asked for an explanation, they responded, 'We conducted an appraisal, and it is valued at 16 billion won.'"

Lee Seung-ki sent a statement to the 'PD Notebook' production team: "(Cha Ga-won) persistently urged us to move in, claiming that the unit above us was vacant and that he wanted to live close to us and rely on us. We refused multiple times, but he pleaded that he had nowhere else to turn. We ended up moving in urgently. He delayed confirming the exact jeonse amount, citing a slow appraisal process, but shortly after we moved in, he demanded a jeonse deposit that was more than three times the amount initially discussed."

He continued, "He also promised that he would bear the loan interest until the end. However, seeing that he has not even paid the agreed jeonse loan interest since then, it does not appear that he has the funds."

However, Cha Ga-won insisted, "For the past three years, I have paid the interest, which amounts to hundreds of millions of won per month for our artists."

"Cha (Chairman)'s legal representative added, "When we asked why he was paying the interest on our behalf, he explained that this was a 'sales reservation.' He said, 'You (the artists) need to prove your income if you want to earn money through your activities and buy an apartment. When you can afford to bear the taxes, I will transfer everything to you.' We reached an agreement on this."

However, the 'PD Notebook' production team clarified, "Our investigation confirmed that the loan interest was paid not by Cha Ga-won personally, but with company funds. For the past few months, however, the artists themselves have been bearing the interest."

Appraiser Jo Jeong-heun pointed out, "This is a common tactic used by scammers in jeonse fraud cases. They set the jeonse price as high as possible and promise to pay the interest. The tenant thinks it's great because they don't have to put in any of their own money; the landlord covers the deposit, the loan, and the interest. However, many people end up being scammed after moving into such properties."

Shortly after Lee Seung-ki moved in, articles appeared claiming it had "recorded the highest jeonse price in Seoul." Regarding this, attorney Lee Don-ho said, "When a celebrity moves in, they issue press releases and get spotlighted. Since the amount is huge, the news 'A celebrity has moved into a luxury villa in Hannam-dong' draws attention. That's why loans of 10 billion won or 13 billion won seem to come out. If they can just secure a loan of 10 billion won in their own name, and Cha Ga-won pays the interest, it's a bait to sell the property."

'PD Notebook' reported that Lee Seung-ki and Baekhyun's move-in actually led to promotional effects. Furthermore, Cha Ga-won stated, "The house prices did actually rise. When I first said this villa was worth 20 billion won, everyone thought I was crazy. They said, 'That guy is crazy.' But what happened was that jeonse prices actually started forming in the 10 billion won range. So, we raised the surrounding market prices too much. This is why I am cautious, because real estate is a sensitive topic right now. People will say, 'Cha Ga-won raised house prices.'"

Meanwhile, despite Lee Seung-ki's explanation, he has not escaped criticism. Netizens are sending strong criticism, saying, "How can you move in without even signing a jeonse contract?", "Does this make any sense?", "The jeonse contract process involves signing a contract with a confirmed deposit, paying 10%, and settling the balance on moving day. How can you demand the jeonse amount right after moving in?", "Do you just move in because someone pleads for help?", "Shouldn't Lee Seung-ki be the one who fell for emotional appeals and handled this?", "Do you really pay over 10 billion won of your own money to move into a jeonse just because an acquaintance wants to rely on you?", "Why would you accept such pleas and move?", "Cha Ga-won paid the jeonse loan interest and inflated the jeonse price to raise the sales price of that house. This isn't just jeonse fraud; it looks like he's an accomplice.", "They should file a lawsuit for fraud.", "It's not normal to move in without even signing a contract.", "Does this make sense? Who would move into a house with a 300% price difference from the market rate, paying 10 billion won each, just because someone wants to rely on them?", "He's a know-it-all," among other harsh criticisms.

Meanwhile, Lee Seung-ki notified Cha Ga-won's One Hundred Label of terminating his exclusive contract, stating that he had not received his settlement payments. When asked by the 'PD Notebook' production team about the extent of the damage, he replied, "I did not receive the appearance fees for 'Sing Again' or payments for performances and events. It is difficult to disclose the specific amount, but it is around several hundred million won."

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*This content was translated by AI.