Studio Dragon co-CEO resigns amid embezzlement scandal
A scene from Netflix's original series “The Glory," produced by Studio Dragon / Courtesy of Netflix
By Lee Gyu-lee
The Co-CEO of CJ ENM's production subsidiary, Studio Dragon, has resigned to take responsibility for an internal embezzlement incident.
“CEO Kim Young-kyu has resigned due to personal reasons,” the production company said through an inquiry disclosure system, Monday.
Kim's resignation is reported to be related to an internal embezzlement incident. Recently, Studio Dragon received a tip-off about a content producer embezzling funds and conducted an internal audit, which verified the reported misconduct.
Studio Dragon officials explained, "It is difficult to disclose specific details of the audit, but it has been confirmed that there was misconduct during the content production process." They added, "Kim Young-gyu, who was in charge of overseeing the content division, resigned, taking moral responsibility for the incident."
The employee involved has been dismissed. The company is reviewing courses of legal action and pursuing criminal charges against the producer.
A scene from Studio Dragon's hit series "Mr. Sunshine" / Courtesy of tvN
Kim started his career as a producer at CJ ENM, leading the 2018 hit series “Mr. Sunshine” as the chief producer. He served as the director of the division, before becoming a co-CEO in 2020.
He had been jointly running the company's content production with Co-CEO Kim Jey-hyun. Following the resignation, Studio Dragon will now be under the sole leadership of the remaining CEO.
Studio Dragon, established in 2016 as a subsidiary of CJ ENM, swiftly emerged as a major production powerhouse in Korea. The company has produced a series of hit shows, including the 2019 romance series "Crash Landing on You," "Hotel del Luna," and the 2016 thriller series "Signal."
Last year, the company achieved record-high revenue, marking its best annual sales since its inception at 697.9 billion won ($554.3 million). It also recorded a profit of 65.2 billion won, a 24 percent increase from the previous year.
It also has expanded its overseas business and made its entry into the U.S. TV market, inking a deal with U.S. production company, Skydance Television in 2021. The two companies co-produced Apple TV+'s original fantasy series, "The Big Door Prize,” which was renewed for Season 2 after its premiere this March.
Picking up its success with Netflix's original series “The Glory” at the beginning of this year, Studio Dragon has a full lineup of series slated for release in the coming months.
Among the highly anticipated titles are the second season of the hit series "The Uncanny Counter," "Arthdal Chronicles," "Sweet Home," the horror action series "Gyeongseong Creature" starring Han So-hee and Park Seo-joon, and the rom-com "Doona!" starring Bae Suzy and Yang Se-jong.
"In the second half of this year, various titles encompassing all genres, like action, thriller, creature, romance, fantasy, and teen, are set to be released for audiences around the world,” the company said. “We plan to further solidify our global footing as a powerhouse of K-dramas."