"Lost 20 Million Won" Lee Hyuk-jae Sued by Acquaintance: "I Feel Wronged... Suffering More Because I'm a Celebrity"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] Broadcaster Lee Hyuk-jae (47) expressed his frustration after being sued for allegedly borrowing tens of millions of won from an acquaintance under the pretext of business funds and failing to repay it.

On the 25th, Lee Hyuk-jae said in a phone interview with Sports Chosun, "I feel wronged. Our lawyer is preparing to send a certified letter to the other party and request a correction and rebuttal report" regarding the lawsuit report.

Lee Hyuk-jae admitted to borrowing money but claimed that the amount in question was not accurate.

He told Sports Chosun, "He is a friend I have been close with. It was not an individual who wrote an IOU and borrowed the money, but our corporation. Our corporation had a company from which it needed to recover debt, so we borrowed money for legal fees to set a mortgage on that company's real estate. I promised to repay once the real estate funds came in. The amounts were about 2 million won and 7 million won. I don't understand why I was sued over 10 million won."

He added, "I wonder if this is happening because I am a celebrity."

Earlier that day, news broke that Lee Hyuk-jae was sued for allegedly borrowing tens of millions of won from an acquaintance under the pretext of business funds and failing to repay it.

According to the police, Lee Hyuk-jae's acquaintance, Mr. A, filed a complaint at the Cheonan Dongnam Police Station in Chungnam, stating that "Lee Hyuk-jae defaulted on the money."

Mr. A claimed that the damage amounted to 20 million won and that Lee Hyuk-jae borrowed money under the pretext of business funds but did not repay it on time.

The police plan to summon both the complainant and Lee Hyuk-jae in turn to verify the facts.

Meanwhile, Lee Hyuk-jae previously lost a civil lawsuit after borrowing several hundred million won from his former agency and failing to repay it.