An actor-turned-entertainment agency CEO is under police investigation for allegedly causing financial damage to event planning companies by presenting false documents promising a famous actor’s appearance at overseas fan meetings.
According to Yonhap News on October 16th, Seoul Gangnam Police Station received a complaint in early last month requesting confirmation of CEO A’s suspected fraud, forgery of private documents, and use of forged documents. The case has recently been assigned to an investigation team.
The event planning company that filed the complaint claims that A presented a false confirmation letter promising the overseas fan meeting appearances of a famous male actor in his 30s. A also allegedly provided a contract and stamped documents bearing the name of the actor’s agency, leading the company to trust these and proceed with the business.
The alleged financial damage claimed by the company is estimated at around ₩200 million KRW (about $149,000 USD). The company reportedly had previously trusted A’s guarantee of the same actor’s appearance and proceeded with overseas events, but the projects were canceled, resulting in losses of several hundred million won.
The scope of the allegations is spreading to other overseas fan meetings involving different celebrities. It is reported that at least four to five other event planning companies claim to have received similar appearance confirmation letters. Combined, the alleged damages are said to be in the tens of billions of won.
Most of the disputed documents reportedly contained promises of appearances by famous actors. The complaining company is urging the police to expand the investigation, saying similar incidents have occurred at other celebrities’ overseas fan meetings.
The police plan to first verify the detailed circumstances and scale of the damage through interviews with the complainants.
However, the claims so far are based on the complainant’s statements, and A has not been officially charged.