Actress and Pilates instructor Yang Jeong-won has been cleared of fraud charges. Yang Jeong-won's side announced that they received a no-charge disposition from the police.
On the 23rd, Yang Jeong-won's agency, Wells Entertainment, stated, "Yang Jeong-won has received a no-charge disposition from the police regarding the case related to the Pilates company with which she signed an advertising model contract," adding, "It has been clearly confirmed that Yang Jeong-won is in no way related to the matter."
They further emphasized, "There was not even a recognition of 'minimal circumstantial evidence' related to this, so there is no fact that she has been charged as a suspect."
The agency stated, "There will be no leniency regarding any malicious slander and dissemination of false information in the future," and added, "We hope this incident will serve as an opportunity to eradicate indiscriminate lawsuits and the spread of false information targeting celebrities."
Previously, the Gangnam Police in Seoul announced that they were investigating Yang Jeong-won and officials from the headquarters of the Pilates academy after receiving complaints from multiple victims regarding fraud and violations of the Franchise Business Act. According to the police, the victims are franchise owners of the Pilates academy where Yang Jeong-won served as the education director and promotional model.
They claimed that the terms of the contract, which stated that the headquarters would directly hire instructors and send them to the franchise locations while sharing operational know-how, were not upheld. The franchise owners alleged that despite promises to send instructors trained directly by Yang Jeong-won and the headquarters, they were assigned instructors recruited from job search websites, and they were forced to purchase Pilates equipment that was falsely claimed to have been developed in-house for 62 million won, while it was sold in the market for 26 million won.
In response, Yang Jeong-won's side actively clarified, "She was merely a promotional model, not an official of the headquarters, and is unrelated to the operations of the headquarters."
