ONE HUNDRED CEO Cha Ga-won Arrested in Seoul on Fraud Charges

Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant on 3 August for Cha Ga-won, co‑CEO of the K‑pop label ONE HUNDRED. She was taken into custody at the Seoul Mapo Police Station after prosecutors cited a risk of evidence destruction.

Investigators allege Cha solicited an advance of about 24 billion won (≈ $16.9 million) from technology firm Knowmerce Corp for a business venture using the label’s artists’ intellectual property, but failed to launch the project. A further 5.4 billion won was received from an acquaintance under a “jeonse” contract that was not honoured, bringing the total alleged fraud to roughly 30 billion won (≈ $21 million). The Financial Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency pursued the warrant after two earlier requests were rejected.

The arrest follows earlier controversies at ONE HUNDRED, including delayed salary payments that prompted several artists to terminate their contracts.