[Edaily Starin KIM HYUNSIK Reporter] Singer and actor Lee Seung-gi has announced his intention to take legal action against Cha Ga-won, chairman of Piak Group and CEO of One Hundred Label—his former agency’s CEO—alleging that she has failed to return his lease deposit.

Lee Seung-gi’s legal representatives, attorneys Yoon Yong-seok and Jang Jae-won, issued a statement on the 6th, stating “As of today, the lease agreement between Lee Seung-gi and Chairman Cha has expired,” adding, “Chairman Cha’s legal representatives recently declared in court that ‘the lease deposit would be returned without issue,’ and just a few days ago notified Lee Seung-gi’s side that ‘there is no problem with the return of the lease deposit,’ but these were nothing more than empty promises.”
They continued, “Today, Chairman Cha’s spouse evaded responsibility by claiming, ‘The return of the jeonse deposit is impossible due to the absence of Cha Ga-won, the contracting party,’” and emphasized, “Lee Seung-gi believes that Chairman Cha’s failure to return the jeonse deposit is not merely a civil breach of contract but falls within the realm of criminal offense.”
Previously, Lee Seung-gi signed a lease in 2024 for a villa located in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, owned by Chairman Cha and his wife, with a lease deposit of 10.5 billion won. It is reported that approximately 7.3 billion won of this amount was financed through a bank loan.
In this regard, Lee Seung-gi’s side has maintained that Chairman Cha demanded a lease deposit inflated above market value. Conversely, Chairman Cha’s side has stated that Lee Seung-gi requested the lease agreement in exchange for receiving the exclusive contract deposit as payment in kind, in order to avoid the tax burden associated with owning multiple properties.
In this statement, Lee Seung-gi’s legal representatives argued, “It appears that even at a time when Lee Seung-gi had not even considered a jeonse contract, Chairman Cha’s side was already preparing to secure a jeonse loan in Lee Seung-gi’s name,” adding, “Accordingly, it seems they knew that a loan of approximately 7.3 billion won would be disbursed even before the loan review process began, and prepared the jeonse contract accordingly.”
They continued, “Immediately after receiving the jeonse deposit, Chairman Cha and his wife transferred ownership of high-value real estate from a trust company,” explaining, “In light of these circumstances, it is believed that Chairman Cha’s side—while seeking a source of funds necessary for the acquisition of the aforementioned real estate—systematically planned a fraudulent scheme in which they induced a famous celebrity to take out a large jeonse loan, effectively used the loan proceeds for personal purposes, and failed to return the funds upon the expiration of the jeonse contract.”
He added, “We will strive to ensure Chairman Cha is severely punished to prevent the recurrence of such crimes in the future, while also doing our best to focus on our core entertainment activities.”
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 receiving 24.2 billion won in advance payments from Nomus Co., Ltd. after proposing a business plan utilizing the intellectual property (IP) of artists affiliated with his entertainment agency and signing a contract, but failing to actually carry out the business. The court held a pre-arrest hearing (warrant review) for Chairman Cha and issued an arrest warrant, citing “concerns about the destruction of evidence.”
Lee Seung-gi, who was active under Big Planet Made—a subsidiary of One Hundred Label—notified the agency last March of his intention to terminate his exclusive contract, citing non-payment of settlement funds and other reasons.