Plaintiff Claims "He Borrowed Money Promising Business Rights"
Police Launch Investigation
Comedian Lee Hyukjae has been sued on fraud charges.
According to Incheon Yeonsu Police Station on December 26, Yonhap News reported that a complaint was filed with the police in July, alleging that Lee borrowed 300 million won in 2023 and failed to repay it.
The asset management company that filed the complaint reportedly claimed that Lee, while serving as the Special Advisor for Media Content to Incheon City, borrowed the money by promising business rights for a project to be carried out in Incheon, but did not repay the loan.
Lee served as an unpaid honorary Special Advisor to Incheon City from October 2022 for one year.
However, Lee has reportedly denied the charges, stating that he did not use his title to borrow money.
Lee Hyukjae debuted in 1999 as a comedian in the 10th open recruitment class of MBC and has appeared on numerous variety shows, including 'Happy Sunday - Declaration of Freedom: Crying Fist,' 'Sunday Night,' 'Super TV Enjoy Sunday,' 'Sunday is 101%,' 'Sponge,' 'Star Golden Bell,' 'Crisis Escape No. 1,' and 'Good Sunday.'
However, since the 2010s, he has been embroiled in various controversies, including an assault incident at a room salon and a wage arrears case. Financial issues have also continued; in 2017, he lost a civil lawsuit after failing to repay over 240 million won borrowed from his former agency. In 2015, he was sued for failing to repay 200 million won to an acquaintance, but the plaintiff later withdrew the complaint.
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