Yang Chi-seung's 'Nonhyeon-dong gym jeonse fraud' case heads to court

A dispute over an alleged jeonse fraud involving a gym in Nonhyeon-dong, raised by personal trainer and broadcaster Yang Chi-seung, has moved to the courts.

Judge Lee Ho-seon of the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 3 held the first hearing Thursday in the case against Yang, who was indicted on charges of violating the Public Property and Commodity Management Act.

The trial came about after the court issued a summary order imposing a fine of 1 million won ($664) on Yang, who then requested a formal trial. A formal trial request is a procedure by which a defendant contests a summary order — issued by the court based solely on written review — and asks for a full judicial ruling.

The building in question is a public facility built under a "donation-and-reversion" arrangement, in which a private developer constructs and operates the facility for a set period before transferring it to Gangnam-gu. Prosecutors allege that Yang continued to use the building without authorization and generate revenue even after the private developer's management period ended in November 2022.

Yang's side, however, maintains that he was never informed the management period had expired at the time he signed the contract.

At the first hearing, Yang said he had inquired with the Gangnam-gu district office about whether a lease was possible and was told there was no problem. "They even told me to 'run the business for 10 or 20 years and make a lot of money,'" he said. He added that he was not in a position to vacate the building immediately, as he had not yet recovered his deposit.

Yang appeared as a witness at a National Assembly national audit last October, presenting the case as an example of jeonse fraud victimization.

Yang said he received an eviction order from the district office and suffered jeonse fraud losses of around 500 million won. "I filed a criminal complaint against the developer, but the official in charge gave false testimony, which led to a no-charge disposition," he said.

Separately from the criminal trial, Yang has also filed an administrative lawsuit against the Gangnam-gu district office.