‘Squid Game’ lead star Lee Jung-jae under police investigation for fraud allegations

Squid Game lead actor Lee Jung-jae is currently under police investigation after being accused of committing fraud.

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South Korean news outlet Chosun Ilbo reported on August 10 that the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul confirmed it is currently investigating complaints filed against Lee and Park In-kyu, former CEO of video production company WYSIWYG Studios, for crimes allegedly breaching South Korea’s Specific Economic Crimes Act.

The complaint was lodged by Kim Dong-rae, current CEO of separate drama production company RaemongRein. In his formal complaint, Kim accused Lee and Park of “misleading him into believing that their involvement as major shareholders would greatly benefit his company’s growth”.

Kim subsequently transferred his shares to both Lee and Park on this basis, however now alleges that Lee and Park are attempting to kick him out of the company’s management team after acquiring his shares.

Kim also added in his complaint that despite a prior agreement on joint management – which he claims was documented in their contract – Lee and Park failed to honour this clause. He is accusing the duo of “focusing solely on acquiring another listed company, Chorokbaem Media, with KRW20billion (approximately £11.4million) belonging to RaemongRein” instead of the growth of his company as purportedly promised.

Although Park’s representatives have yet to speak on the allegations, Lee Jung-jae has since countersued Kim for defamation and fraud. According to Chosun Ilbo, Lee’s legal counsel put out a statement saying: “The contract in question explicitly stated that it was a deal involving the transfer of management rights.” This, they argue, refutes Kim’s accusations.

As of writing, the investigation into both Park and Lee are still ongoing, with questioning of both men expected to take place soon.

In other news, Korean band Day6 have recently announced an upcoming world tour dubbed ‘Forever Young’, slated to kick off in September this year with a three-night residency at Incheon’s Inspire Arena. The first portion of the tour, also the Asian leg, will include cities in Japan, Southeast and East Asia, while shows in other regions have yet to be announced.

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