[Dispatch=Lee A-jin] Cha Ga-won, chairman of ONE HUNDRED, denied fraud allegations entirely in the second hearing. His position is that while he received funds, there was no deceptive conduct.

The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 23 (Presiding Judge Oh Se-yong) held the second hearing for Chairman Cha on the 3rd. Chairman Cha is accused of violations of the Special Economic Crimes Punishment Act (fraud), among other charges.

First, he is accused of taking approximately 11 billion won by promising a Taemin concert and goods distribution contract with Knowmerce. He is also accused of taking 12.1 billion won through a goods production and distribution contract with EXO-CBX, and 1.1 billion won through a fromis_9-related platform business.

A lease contract issue with an acquaintance surnamed Jang is also included in the charges. The allegation states that he promised Jang a lease contract and received a 5.4 billion won deposit but failed to fulfill it.

Chairman Cha's side denied the charges again on this day. A new legal representative was also appointed. The change was made from Attorney Min Byung-kwon of Law Firm Phil to Attorney Um Sang-sub of Jipyong.

Attorney Um Sang-sub of Jipyong stated, "We acknowledge receiving funds from Knowmerce and others," but argued that "there was no deception or intent in the process of receiving the money."

He emphasized that the contract process with Knowmerce had no problems. Attorney Um explained, "We consulted according to the normal methods that had been in place previously," and "While we discussed the timing of contract commencement, we never gave a definitive answer on a specific date."

He also rebutted allegations regarding the communication platform 'From'. Attorney Um stated, "We never discussed a substantive preliminary contract with fromis_9. We also explicitly stated in the contract that (we) could enter into agreements with other artists."

Chairman Cha's side did not agree to approximately 20 statements submitted by prosecutors on this day. They objected to statements from Baekhyun, Knowmerce, ONE HUNDRED's accounting team, and a tax accountant.

The next hearings will be held on the 7th, 8th, and 21st of next month. The prosecutors will sequentially call the witnesses to whom Chairman Cha's side objected. These include the Knowmerce representative, Jang, and accounting team employees.

<Photo=Dispatch DB>