Triple Star (Kang Seung Won), known from the Netflix series ‘Culinary Class Wars’, has been cleared of embezzlement allegations after nearly a year of investigation. Seoul’s Gangnam Police concluded there was no suspicion of wrongdoing and issued a non-referral decision, effectively closing the case.
The complaint, filed in Nov. 2024 by A—Kang Seung Won’s former spouse—alleged that during the operation of a restaurant, Kang Seung Won diverted about 24 million KRW (about 18,000 USD) of revenue to repay his father’s personal debt without consent.
Investigators did not view the pair as business partners. Tax records showed the restaurant “Treed” was registered solely under Kang Seung Won as an individual proprietor, and staff submitted statements saying they had not seen A manage the venue, indicating that Kang Seung Won ran the business independently.
Police also determined that A’s 150 million KRW (about 110,000 USD) put in during the opening phase was not equity but a loan. On Jan. 13, 2021 KST, the parties executed a notarized deed converting the funds into borrowed money; from that point, A had no basis to claim an ownership stake. The payout to another investor—Kang Seung Won’s father—occurred around Feb. 2022 KST, after the conversion, so it did not infringe any right A could assert as a partner.
The police summarized: "Following a breakup sparked by personal discord, the money received from A was settled and returned in full, and the profit-sharing ratio of 25% was scrupulously observed when distributing any proceeds. Based on the submitted materials and testimony, there is insufficient basis to find intent by Kang Seung Won to secretly appropriate operating funds or revenues." In short, authorities found that Kang Seung Won repaid the loan and distributed applicable profits appropriately.
Kang Seung Won gained attention after finishing third on ‘Culinary Class Wars’ last year. When the accusation surfaced three months after his marriage ended, he paused public activities, saying he would prove the truth through legal channels. After roughly a year of inquiries, he has now been cleared.
Separate personal-life allegations raised by A did not advance due to unverifiable claims and have not spread further, though the public nature of the assertions affected the chef’s reputation.
Claims that A “lobbied” to help Kang Seung Won land and build his résumé at the Michelin three-star restaurant ‘Benu’ in the United States were also contradicted. Owner-chef Corey Lee told reporters via email that the answers to whether Kang Seung Won obtained a ‘Benu’ interview through A’s acquaintance, or was converted to full-time at someone’s request, were "No." On why Kang Seung Won moved from intern to full-time, Corey Lee said, "We offered him a full time position because he did well as an intern," recalling him as "professional and focused."
Commenting on the police outcome, Kang Seung Won’s attorney said the embezzlement claim was baseless because A was not a co-owner or investing partner from the start, the ‘Benu’ lobbying claim was untrue, and other personal assertions were unproven and one-sided.
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