One Hundred CEO Cha Ga-won denied all charges at his first trial over alleged fraud involving artist IP deals and a real estate deposit.
October/13/2026 14:02Related Groups & Members
One Hundred CEO Cha Ga-won, who was detained and indicted on suspicion of fraudulently obtaining about 30 billion won (about 3.2 billion yen) in connection with businesses using the intellectual property (IP) of artists under his management, denied all charges at his first trial. On October 13, the first trial of Cha Ga-won, who was detained and indicted on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes (fraud), was held at Criminal Division 23 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Oh Se-young). The detained Cha representative appeared in court that day wearing a black suit and a mask. At this first trial, the prosecution said, 'The defendant is suspected of defrauding a total of 11 billion won (about 1.2 billion yen) from Knowmerce, which operates the fan mobile platform service “fomm,” under the pretext of transferring rights related to Taemin’s performances and merchandise distribution, an artist under One Hundred; 12.1 billion won (about 1.3 billion yen) under the pretext of EXO-CBX merchandise production and distribution business; and 1.1 billion won (about 120 million yen) under the pretext of fromis_9-related merchandise business. The defendant received these sums as advance payments, and the total amounts to 24.2 billion won (about 2.6 billion yen).' In addition, he is also suspected of taking a 5.4 billion won (about 580 million yen) deposit after proposing a real estate lease contract to an acquaintance, while failing to carry out the contract. In response, Cha’s defense argued, 'We deny all of the charges in the indictment.' Regarding the compensation order filed by the acquaintance claiming damages of 5.4 billion won, the defense also countered, 'The tenant has opposability under the Housing Lease Protection Act and can receive the return of the deposit through the relevant property, so fraudulent conduct does not成立,' and requested that the petition be dismissed. Cha, who is also the chairman of the P.ARK Group, which is engaged in real estate development, co-founded One Hundred with singer MC Mong in 2023. By successively bringing in popular artists, he expanded the scale of the business. However, afterward, problems over unpaid settlement money to affiliated artists surfaced, and troubles within the agency continued, including a series of lawsuits seeking termination of exclusive contracts. Cha’s side claims that this case is part of a scheme aimed at a hostile merger and acquisition, and maintains his innocence. The next trial is scheduled to be held on November 3 at 10:00 a.m.
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