ATTRAKT “150 Million Won Embezzlement” VS Ahn Sung Il “Not Involved in FIFTY FIFTY Tampering”
On July 11th, the 33rd Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court held the first hearing for the 1 billion won damages lawsuit filed by ATTRAKT against The Givers, CEO Ahn Sung Il and director Baek Jin Sil.
Ahn Sung Il’s lawyer stated, “This case has already been reported by the media in favor of the plaintiff. The defendants have not responded until now and have come this far believing that the facts will be revealed through the trial process.”
They continued, “The plaintiff claims that the service contract was unilaterally terminated, but it was mutually agreed upon. The defendants have had little involvement in the disputes between the plaintiff and the members. The specific facts will be revealed, but there are ongoing investigations, and the outcome will likely influence the proceedings. We will respond to each point as directed by the court.”
They particularly emphasized, “Regarding the alleged damages, apart from director Baek Jin Sil’s advertisement refusal, there is no concrete evidence of damage. We would like the plaintiff to clearly specify what damages occurred.”
According to the complaint filed by ATTRAKT, Ahn Sung Il and Baek Jin Sil violated their contractual obligations, interfered with the plaintiff’s operations, deceived the plaintiff and engaged in actions detrimental to the plaintiff’s interests, causing significant financial damage.
ATTRAKT explained, “Ahn Sung Il, as the CEO of The Givers, signed a Project Management service contract with ATTRAKT (from June 1st, 2021 to May 31st, 2026) and served as the main producer for the new girl group project that ATTRAKT intended to develop and debut. Baek Jin Sil, as The Givers’ internal director, also handled the project management and various related tasks under the same contract.”
They added, “Due to the breach of duties and unlawful acts by Ahn Sung Il and Baek Jin Sil, including embezzlement and loss of major business opportunities such as advertising and sponsorship rejections, direct disputes arose between our company and the artists, hindering normal entertainment activities. The current damages claim is a partial amount, and we plan to expand the claim during the trial process.”
Previously, ATTRAKT CEO Jeon Hong Joon filed a complaint against Ahn Sung Il in July 2023 for embezzlement, forgery and use of forged documents with the Gangnam Police Station. Ahn Sung Il was also sent to the prosecution on charges of business obstruction and destruction of electronic records, which Jeon had reported in June 2023. Additional embezzlement charges were recently recognized and forwarded to the prosecution.