Lee Seung-gi Says His Jeonse Deposit Was Raised Threefold to 10.5 Billion Won; Cha Ga-won Calls It a Misunderstanding

Singer and actor Lee Seung-gi is living in a villa owned by Cha Ga-won, chairman of ONE HUNDRED Label, after moving in under a jeonse lease with a deposit of 10.5 billion won. When Lee raised questions about that amount, Cha's side pushed back, saying Lee appeared to be mistaken.

The issue was featured on the June 2 episode of MBC's current affairs program "PD Notebook," in an installment titled "MC Mong and the Chairman's K-pop Business Secrets." The broadcast covered claims that Cha had placed affiliated artists, including Lee Seung-gi and EXO's Baekhyun, in a luxury villa he owned.

According to the program, Lee Seung-gi paid a deposit of 10.5 billion won to move into the villa, while Baekhyun paid 16 billion won. The broadcast said large loans were taken out from a bank in connection with the residence. It also pointed out that before Lee moved in, the loan limit had been 3.6 billion won, but later increased by three times.

Lee Seung-gi's legal representative claimed that Cha repeatedly urged Lee and his wife to move in on a jeonse basis, saying the unit above the one where Cha lived was vacant and that he wanted to live close to the couple and rely on them. The representative said Lee refused several times, but Cha appealed that he had no one to depend on, leading Lee to move in urgently under a jeonse arrangement. The representative also claimed that Cha did not confirm the exact lease amount, saying the appraisal was being delayed, and then immediately after the move demanded a jeonse deposit more than three times higher than the amount first discussed.

Lee's side further said that the amount ultimately written into the contract had risen severalfold from the deposit Cha mentioned when he first urged Lee to sign the jeonse agreement. The representative said Lee questioned the figure because it made no sense from a common-sense perspective, and that Cha's side explained the villa had been appraised as a property worth 16 billion won.

Cha, for his part, claimed, "I had been paying interest amounting to hundreds of millions of won each month for three years." However, "PD Notebook" reported that the interest had not been paid from Cha's personal funds but with company money, and that for the past several months the entertainer had been bearing the cost.

Lee Seung-gi's side said Cha had promised to cover the loan interest through the end, but added that the fact he later failed to pay the promised jeonse loan interest made it difficult to believe he had money available.

After the broadcast, a lawyer for Cha's side responded to Lee Seung-gi's questions by stating that Lee seemed to be mistaken.

Following the program, MC Mong strongly objected through social media and said he would file a 100 billion won damages lawsuit against "PD Notebook."