'Lobbyist' claim upsets Clara Lee

Clara Lee

Actress Clara Lee was in the spotlight on Saturday after a TV report said she was asked to be a lobbyist for llgwang Group Chairman Lee Kyu-tae, who was arrested in March for alleged corruption in state arms purchases.

The SBS program “I Want to Know That” quoted an associate of the actress, saying the chairman, who used to run many businesses, from defense to entertainment, had “asked her a number of times to stop her acting career and be his lobbyist. The chairman valued her fluency in English.”

The actress, 29, said on the program that she and her father were being victimized over the dispute between her and the chairman, which began in January.

“I am afraid to go outside my home,” the actress said. “My father and I will no longer be able to live in Korea because of this.”

The dispute began when the actress filed a suit demanding that her contract with Polaris Entertainment be terminated because the chairman, who owned the company, sexually harassed her.

The agency counter-sued, claiming Lee fabricated the claims as a ploy to escape her contract.