BTOB’s Lee Changsub has confessed to suffering embezzlement losses amounting to hundreds of millions of won at the applied music academy he operates.
On the 22nd, a video titled “How to Never Get Scammed by Jeonse Fraud” was uploaded to the YouTube channel ‘Lee Changsub & Jeo Changsub’.
While working as a one-day intern at a law firm in the video, Lee Changsub caught viewers’ attention by asking, “People come here because they need lawyers, right? I want to hire one too. For this scammer!”
When the production team asked if there was actually a scammer, Lee Changsub honestly revealed, “I was scammed at my academy.” Currently operating an applied music academy in Suwon, he expressed his bitterness, saying, “I couldn’t catch them. They used the law very cunningly.”
Facing a lawyer, Lee Changsub explained the details. “I had an academy. Since I had to run the corporation, I put in money every month at the start. There was a representative who managed it on my behalf, but that person didn’t pay the employees’ salaries and spent the money however they wanted,” he revealed.
The scale of the damage was significant. Lee Changsub lamented, “The problem is that I had to spend several hundred million more because of things that weren’t paid. I found out that person spent 110 million won, so I told them to pay it back. They agreed, signed a promissory note, and sent 1 million won in the first month. Since then, they haven’t sent anything.”
After listening carefully, the lawyer provided a clear legal diagnosis. “You’re here as an intern today. From now on, you need to switch your mindset to that of a legal professional. Saying ‘it’s fraud’ just because you lost money is for beginners. We have to categorize it. Is it fraud or embezzlement? We have to follow the clauses,” the lawyer explained. “You mentioned running an academy. That means you entrusted the funds. When someone in the position of a custodian uses those funds for their own purposes, it’s immediately embezzlement. Once embezzlement has occurred, it’s still embezzlement even if the money is paid back.”
When Lee Changsub asked, “Then that person is still guilty?” the lawyer replied, “Yes. I think you should go catch them now.” Upon hearing this, Lee Changsub joked, “I’ll be right back!” acting as if he were about to storm out, bringing a small laugh to the otherwise bitter situation.
