Police have applied for a third arrest warrant against Cha Ga-won, the head of entertainment agency One Hundred Label, who faces fraud charges totaling 30 billion won ($20.3 million).
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's financial crimes unit filed the warrant request Wednesday on charges including aggravated fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. Police had previously sought Cha's arrest twice, but prosecutors rejected both applications, citing insufficient grounds for the criminal charges.
Cha is accused of proposing a business venture to Nomers Co. that would use the intellectual property of artists signed to his agency, collecting 24.2 billion won in advance payments and then failing to carry out the project. Separately, he is accused of receiving a jeonse deposit of 5.4 billion won from an acquaintance under the pretense of a lease agreement and failing to honor the contract.
Cha's legal team had previously said it would file a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, arguing that the repeated search-and-seizure operations and arrest warrant applications constituted a serious violation of human rights.
His team also filed a quasi-appeal with a court in April, alleging that police had acted unlawfully during a search and seizure. A quasi-appeal is a legal mechanism through which a suspect can challenge investigative measures such as search and seizure and seek their cancellation.
arin@heraldcorp.com
