Ex-Wonder Girls singer, pastor father sued over $17 million worshipper con

Singer Ye-eun. Courtesy of Amoeba Culture

By Dong Sun-hwa

Former Wonder Girls singer Ye-eun and her pastor father have been sued for allegedly conning 20 billion won ($17 million) from worshippers.

The worshippers filed a complaint in March at the Suseo Police Station, Seoul. They claimed the minister pocketed investment money collected to promote an entertainment business and Ye-eun participated in the business presentation.

The singer, whose stage name is HA:TFELT, was reportedly under investigation and might face further probe.

“Ye-eun fully cooperated with the probe to prove her innocence,” Amoeba Culture, the singer's agency, said on Monday.

The pastor is behind bars for swindling around 19.7 billion won from about 150 church members. He was sentenced to six years' jail last year.

He had already been fined 680 million won ($600,000) for conning 3.1 billion won ($2.7 million) from church members since 2014.

He also is reportedly being probed for alleged sexual assault of a woman in her 20s in 2015.

Ye-eun debuted as a member of now-defunct girl band Wonder Girls in 2007. The group was propelled to stardom thanks to several hits, including “Tell Me,” “So Hot” and “Nobody.”

The group disbanded in 2017, but the singer continued her career as a soloist. She released the album “Deine” in April and was set to make a comeback soon.