[Edaily Starin Reporter KIM HYUNSIK ] A recording has been released causing a stir, in which a person believed to be Cha Ga-won, Chairwoman of Piak Group and CEO of One Hundred Label, mentions that she paid off singer MC Mong’s gambling debts on his behalf.

Lee Jin-ho, a former journalist turned YouTuber, released the recording on his YouTube channel on the 4th, stating that he obtained it from a person identified as “A,” who had been unable to recover a 5.4 billion won lease deposit from Chairman Cha. Lee Jin-ho claimed the call took place last December, though the facts of the matter have not been verified.
In the recording, a person believed to be Chairman Cha claimed, “They say I was swindled out of 12 billion won by MC Mong, but I was swindled out of even more—about 40 billion won.” The individual continued, “MC Mong had a massive gambling debt,” adding, “He threatened me and (EXO’s) Baekhyun, saying, ‘If this gets out, you’ll both be finished.’ I paid back about 20 billion won at that time.”
Lee Jin-ho claimed that after Chairman Cha’s relationship with MC Mong soured, he hired a viral marketing agency early this year and ordered a “reverse viral” campaign against him, and he also released related audio recordings. “Reverse viral” refers to the act of spreading content online to generate negative public opinion toward a specific target.
MC Mong co-founded One Hundred Label with Chairman Cha in December 2023 but left the company in June of last year. EXO’s Baekhyun, who had been active under INB100—a subsidiary of One Hundred Label—notified the company of the termination of his exclusive contract last April.
Neither Chairman Cha nor MC Mong’s side has yet issued a statement regarding the release of this recording. E-Daily attempted to contact Chairman Cha’s legal representative on the 5th but was unable to reach him. Previously, in June, MC Mong denied allegations of embezzlement of company funds and gambling abroad in the U.S., which were raised by MBC’s “PD Notebook.”
Meanwhile, Chairman Cha was arrested on the 3rd on charges of fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. Chairman Cha is accused of proposing a business venture to Nomus Co., Ltd. that would utilize the intellectual property (IP) of artists affiliated with the entertainment agency he runs, signing a contract and receiving an advance payment of 24.2 billion won, but failing to actually carry out the business. After holding a pre-arrest hearing (warrant review) for Chairman Cha, the court issued an arrest warrant, citing “concerns about the destruction of evidence.”