An audio recording alleging that Cha Ga-won, chairman of PhiArC Group, who is under detained investigation, had money taken from him by the singer MC Mong has been exposed, shocking the public.
On the 4th, the YouTube channel 'YeonE Dwitongryeong Jin-ho', which covers entertainment issues, shed light on the alleged chain of events in a so-called money saga involving MC Mong and EXO's Baekhyun, based on audio files reported to them by an acquaintance of Chairman Cha. The informant was reportedly a victim who did not receive 5.4 billion won in jeonse security deposits from Chairman Cha.
In the audio recording, a person believed to be Chairman Cha claimed that MC Mong was behind the fact that he could not pay the company the settlement money. The audio alleges that MC Mong's overseas gambling debts were so extensive they were hard to imagine, and that Baekhyun and the person himself were threatened, leading him to cover 20 billion won to prevent damage to Baekhyun. The uproar is spreading after a claim surfaced that a total of 40 billion won moved into the side of MC Mong.
The person also said Baekhyun suffered severe mental anguish amid the process that led to the collapse of EXO activities, and that he struggled after taking a direct hit from the announcement of a six-member system that emerged during negotiations with SM Entertainment. Jin-ho Lee explained that it would be difficult to fully trust Chairman Cha's statements, but that the circumstantial evidence suggests Chairman Cha was already aware of the existence of the gambling debts in advance.
Suspected reverse-viral operation using sex-for-sale keywords… a chain of damages in the entertainment industry seems unavoidable
In the exposed video, additional shocking details were revealed, including suspicious reverse-viral circumstances that unfolded after the relationship between the two people deteriorated and spiraled toward ruin.
The audio files show that a person believed to be Chairman Cha conspired to circulate content that could deal a blow to MC Mong by combining fatal keywords such as sex-for-sale after contacting a viral marketing company. According to Lee Jin-ho's explanation, Chairman Cha launched a reverse-viral operation by spending about 100 million won right after parting ways with MC Mong, in an effort to ruin him.
In the end, suspicions surrounding MC Mong's gambling, the alleged large-sum money saga between Chairman Cha and MC Mong, and the cheap reverse-viral operation all erupted in combination, leaving only the affiliated artists and outside subcontractors to bear the damage. Along with Chairman Cha's detention, the fallout from this audio recording scandal is bringing a strong aftershock both inside and outside the entertainment industry.
