Blackpink’s Lisa wasn’t the first Korean star to get scammed by her manager – 5 more celebrities betrayed by the boss they trusted most
Descendants of the Sun’s Song Hye-kyo was blackmailed with the threat of an acid attack, while all of K-pop singer Son Dam-bi’s possessions were driven away in a removal truck – by her manager
The Blackpink girls are no strangers to headlines, but this week band member Lisa landed herself in the press for the wrong reasons after she was scammed by her manager for a whopping one billion Korean won (US$832,600).
It’s no secret celebrities and their managers often have close relationships and generally spend a lot of time together. Sadly, there are some shady managers out there who can’t resist taking advantage of these close relationships. For legal reasons, the managers are unnamed.
How Blackpink’s Lisa was scammed
On June 2, YG Entertainment confirmed that Lisa was scammed out of one billion won by her manager, referred to as A. “A” gambled Lisa’s money away when he was meant to help her with a real estate investment.
YG released a statement saying that, “Manager ‘A’ has reimbursed a part of the sum and has left the company after agreeing on a reimbursement plan for the rest of the sum.” The statement also included Lisa’s sweet wish “to settle this amicably, as the former manager was someone Lisa had trusted.”
“A” has been a long time employee at YG, and worked very closely with Blackpink even before their debut in 2016. Fans even knew him as he was caught on camera during Blackpink’s reality show Blackpink House.
Song Hye-kyo threatened with an acid attack?
In 2005, Song Hye-kyo’s mother received a life threatening mail. She was blackmailed to prepare 250 million won – or else acid would be thrown at her and Song Hye-kyo. The mail added, “Think well, if you don’t want to see your daughter’s body rot and melt down forever.”
The police investigation revealed the blackmailer to be Song Hye-kyo’s former manager, who worked with her for three years in the past. After getting fired, his bank balance flunked, so he put his mind to work and came up with this nefarious scheme.
Son Dam-bi’s manager stole her entire belongings with a removals truck
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What’s the worst thing a homeowner can imagine? Returning home to find your apartment completely empty. During her K-pop diva days around 2008, Son Dam-bi returned home to find her entire belongings robbed from her apartment. And the culprit? Yup, it was her manager, who took off with all the furniture, and even her undergarments – with a removal truck, to help pay for gambling debts.
Today, Son Dam-bi may be most recognisable for playing Hyang Mi in the drama When the Camellia Blooms, but she also had a thriving K-pop career with her biggest hits On a Saturday Night and Crazy.
“I was so busy at the time that I didn’t even have time to install proper security for my place. Of course I told my manager the password because we were always together,” Son recalled when she appeared in the JTBC show Knowing Bros. Crazy, right?
Kim Seon-kyeong lost her 280 million rent deposit
You may know her from the drama series The World of the Married, as the mother of Yeo Da-kyung. Kim Seon-kyeong recalled when her former manager betrayed her for her money in the TV program No way I’m an Adult. “He was like a brother I’ve known for 10 years,” she said. “At the time, I was on the lookout for a new place to live, but I was shooting at an island.” She had given the money to her manager to look for it instead, but he used it all up. After this incident, Kim Seon-kyeong said that she now has issues in trusting people.
Lee Jong-hyuk’s manager lied that his mother had cancer for money
Excuses – they can be acceptable or unacceptable … in this case, it is the latter. The manager lied to Lee Jong-hyeok saying he needed money to pay for the hospital bills for his mum who had cancer, and received 5 million won (US$4,160) from Lee in 2013. The manager didn’t stop here but used the same tactic on six other actors in the same agency. The reason behind this? He needed to pay his personal debts.
Jung Joon-ho was robbed of 80 million won by his manager
Jung Joon-ho, who played the role of Kang Joon-sang in the hit drama Sky Castle, also lost his money via his manager’s sneaky hands in 2012. The trusted confidant withdrew a total of 80 million won, little by little over 29 times, while Jung was out shooting. It turns out that this manager already had a criminal record of theft and gambling, but he had the nerve to steal again from his celeb client.