YES24 faces lawsuit for Lee Jong-suk's detention in Jakarta
Hansae YES24 Holdings Chairman Kim Dong-nyung, left, and actor Lee Jong-suk / Korea Times file
By Park Jae-hyuk
YES24, a subsidiary of Hansae YES24 Holdings, is facing a lawsuit filed by actor Lee Jong-suk's agency regarding the K-pop star's temporary detention at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport after a fan meeting in Jakarta last weekend.
Hansae YES24 Holdings holds a 50.01 percent stake in YES24, which specializes in the operation of bookstores and concert halls.
The agency named A-man Project said Tuesday it hired Yulchon lawyer Ahn Jeong-hye to take legal action against YES24, which served as a local promoter for the event.
Lee, who initially planned to return to Korea, Sunday, was delayed in Indonesia until Tuesday.
Indonesian news outlets reported the actor was then “deported” from the Southeast Asian country.
“YES24, the local promoter, tried to evade taxes, so the Indonesian authorities confiscated the passports of me and my staff, who are not involved in the tax evasion charge,” Lee wrote on his Instagram, Monday.
The detention delayed the actor's participation in the filming of a new tvN romantic comedy episode.
He was also scheduled to visit Manila to meet his fans in the Philippines.
“The poor management of YES24 resulted in the late return, so we worried many people,” A-man Project said in a statement. “We could return to Korea, thanks to support from the Korean Embassy in Indonesia.”
The agency criticized the local promoter for flip-flopping on this issue.
“Just before our scheduled departure from the airport at 8 p.m. Sunday, we heard the head of YES24's Indonesian subsidiary disappeared with the passports of Lee and 11 staff members,” the agency said. “We were only able to contact the local head at 2:30 a.m. the next day and heard that the Indonesian tax authorities had confiscated the passports. The local head added the company will pay a fine to solve the problem.”
However, Lee and the staff, who contacted the Korean Embassy afterwards, realized they had visa issues.
Indonesian news outlets reported the actor and staff had the wrong visas as YES24 had not applied for short-term work permits.
“Until now, YES24 has continued telling lies to us, so the actor and our company have suffered severe damage from these,” the agency said. “We are considering taking legal action against YES24, the local promoter.”
A-man Project emphasized the company and the actor were not responsible for the detainment, saying it will not overlook any rumors that defame the artist.
YES24 has yet to comment on the issue, saying it was holding a meeting.