As mentioned before, it was mentioned that two construction companies had filed against Junsu and the hotel demanding that they be paid 5 billion KRW (~ $4.5 million USD) for the building construction and other fees that they supposedly had loaned out. The construction companies claimed that they had received IOUs promising to be paid back, but that Junsu and the hotel had failed to do so.
The hotel, through their lawyer, has denied that they have any financial obligation to these construction companies and also stated that these companies are using Junsu's status as a Hallyu star for monetary gain.
The lawyer also stated through the hotel's press release, "We are starting to find evidence that the two construction companies have embezzled the construction fee that they had exaggerated up to double the actual amount... We will take firm legal measures through a lawsuit."
The hotel also acknowledged the fact that they did write promissory notes (IOUs) to these companies, but that they had only written it at the request of the companies who had told them that they were needed for financial documentation.
Like the hotel's claims, the copy of the IOU they provided states at the bottom, "I acknowledge that the promissory note is for the use of the bank or company's financial documentation and is not an actual amount to be reimbursed," followed by the signature of one of the construction companies' CEO.
The lawyer added, "As shown, IOUs that have been made for false documentation through a mutual agreement are not valid, and there is no actual amount that we have loaned from the construction companies. And because the money that we loaned from the bank was delivered to us through the construction companies themselves, their claims are absurd."
The hotel's rep also revealed that because they had feared this exact outcome with the construction companies trying to demand money, the hotel had made sure to get the signatures in advance on the IOUs acknowledging that the promissory note is purely for documentation.
It's been said that CEO Kim Junsu had received a loan from Korea Exchange Bank for the amount of 15 billion KRW, and used 9 billion KRW of it to pay back their loan from Nonghyup (National Agricultural Cooperative Federation). The hotel's lawyer commented, "During this process, the remainder 6 billion KRW [loan from the bank] was sent directly to the construction companies for the funding of the facilities, and the repayment obligation is on CEO Kim Junsu... Because of this, there is no reason in the first place for CEO Kim Junsu to repay the construction companies," explaining that Junsu has repayment responsibility only to the bank.
The hotel is said to be in the midst of getting ready to file a counter lawsuit against the construction companies for defamation as well as possible embezzlement of the construction fee that the hotel had paid them.
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