Lee Seung Gi faces potential 7.4 million USD deposit loss after Cha Ga Won's arrest with 5.3 million USD in loans at risk

Singer and actor Lee Seung Gi is facing the possibility of losing his 10.5 billion KRW (approximately 7.4 million USD) jeonse security deposit after his landlord, One Hundred chairman Cha Ga Won, was arrested on major fraud charges.

The uncertainty stems from whether Lee Seung Gi will be able to recover the deposit following Cha Ga Won's detention.

On August 3, a court issued an arrest warrant for Cha Ga Won on charges of fraud under South Korea's Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. Prosecutors allege that Cha proposed a business venture to Nomus Corporation using the intellectual property (IP) of artists signed under his entertainment agency and received an advance payment of 24.2 billion KRW (approximately 17 million USD). However, authorities claim the promised business was never carried out.

Investigators have also reportedly uncovered evidence suggesting Cha Ga Won split contracts in an attempt to roll over existing debts while burdened with substantial liabilities. Cha has denied all allegations against her.

Following her arrest, several financial disputes involving the chairman have come under renewed scrutiny. In addition to the Nomus case, Cha has been accused of failing to pay settlement earnings to artists formerly signed under her agency, including Lee Seung Gi, Lee Mu Jin, EXO-CBX, and The Boyz. Allegations of unpaid employee wages and overdue payments to business partners have also surfaced.

The most significant issue involves Lee Seung Gi's jeonse deposit. The singer has been living in a luxury villa in Seoul's Yongsan District owned by Cha under a jeonse lease with a 10.5 billion KRW deposit. With the lease set to expire this month, Lee has previously claimed he was the victim of an overpriced lease agreement and expressed concerns that he may not be able to recover his deposit.

Complicating matters further, approximately 7.3 billion KRW (around 5.3 million USD) of the total deposit was financed through bank loans. If the deposit is not returned, Lee could be forced to repay the outstanding loan balance himself.

Although Lee could pursue legal action, including a lawsuit seeking the return of the deposit or compulsory enforcement and a court-ordered auction of the property, those proceedings are expected to take considerable time, and there is no guarantee that the full amount would be recovered. The villa was also reportedly seized earlier this year by South Korea's National Tax Service due to Cha's unpaid taxes.

Lee has also encountered another setback involving a building he recently constructed in Seoul's Jangchung-dong. The contractor has exercised a lien after the remaining construction payment was not made, preventing occupancy of the building. Lee had planned to move into the property once his current lease expired, but those plans have now been disrupted, leaving him without a clear place to relocate. The construction company involved was identified as Piark Construction, a family-owned company affiliated with Cha Ga Won.

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