"'Fraud Lawsuit' Yang Jeong-won Explains 'Contract as Advertising Model, Not Business Participant'"

Yang clarifies facts in SNS post
"2% royalty is model fee, not business profit share"

Yang Jeong-won (35), an actress and former Pilates instructor, recently clarified her position regarding being sued for fraud by Pilates academy franchise owners.

On the 2nd, Yang posted on her social media (SNS), stating, "I would like to correct the facts regarding the articles about the Pilates academy franchise," and explained, "I am not a business participant in the Pilates academy franchise but simply have a portrait rights usage contract as an advertising model."

She continued, "At the time of the portrait rights usage contract in 2021, I requested the headquarters to clearly inform the franchise owners that I was an 'advertising model' before proceeding with the contract," and claimed, "During the two-year contract period, I diligently participated as a promotional model by attending expos and engaging in Pilates-related activities." She also emphasized that the '2% royalty' mentioned in the article was a model fee for portrait rights usage, not a profit share from business participation.

Actor Yang Jung-won. [Photo by Yang Jung-won Social Network Service (SNS)]

Yang stated, "After the advertisement was released and I found the incorrect description of 'Education Director' on the photo, I repeatedly raised objections and requested corrections regarding this description," adding, "I also demanded once again that it be clearly communicated that I am an 'advertising model' to prevent misunderstandings among franchise owners." She further said, "The business aspects mentioned in the article, such as equipment purchases and instructor contracts by the franchisees, were entirely handled by the headquarters, and I was not involved in any business other than my role as a model."

Finally, she said, "If the franchise owners have been treated unfairly by the headquarters, I sincerely hope this issue is resolved quickly," and concluded with, "I am very upset and heavy-hearted. I apologize for causing concern to many people who were surprised to hear the news." On the 3rd, Yang also posted a press release from the law firm Dongin, which is providing her legal counsel. In the release, the law firm stated, "After verifying the facts of the case, it was confirmed that Ms. Yang signed an advertising model contract and received a portion of the portrait rights fees, and that she was in a position where she was unaware of the specific business operations," adding, "We may take civil and criminal legal actions against speculative articles, malicious posts, and malicious comments."

News of Yang Jeong-won's lawsuit was revealed on the 1st. On that day, the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul announced that they are investigating Yang and the Pilates academy headquarters officials following multiple complaints filed for fraud and violations of the Franchise Business Act. The victims claim that Yang was the education director and promotional model of the Pilates academy franchise. They allege that although Yang and the headquarters promised to dispatch instructors directly trained by the company to the franchises, they instead assigned instructors recruited through job sites, and deceived them into forcibly purchasing Pilates equipment priced at 62 million KRW by falsely claiming it was developed through direct research, while the market price is 26 million KRW.

Meanwhile, Yang Jeong-won debuted in 2008 with the tvN drama 'Mackdweom-eun Young-ae 3' (Mischievous Young-ae 3). She later appeared in dramas such as 'Our Gap-soon' (2016) and 'Yeonnam-dong 539' (2018), and was active in variety shows including 'My Little Television,' 'Law of the Jungle,' and 'Queen of Ssireum.' She is also working as a Pilates instructor and an adjunct professor at the Graduate School of Integrative Medicine at CHA University.