SEOUL: Cha Ga-won, CEO of One Hundred Label, was detained Monday (Aug 3) on fraud charges involving some 30 billion won (US$21 million), leaving the K-pop industry scrambling to understand how a real estate mogul built a multilabel entertainment empire in record time — and lost it just as quickly.
Cha's ties to the entertainment world, however, predated the label — and were controversial from the start.
In 2023, following a dispute with SM Entertainment, Exo's Baekhyun established his own company, One Signature — a performance venture that preceded his better-known label, INB100, which was later brought under One Hundred.
Cha and her husband used their luxury residential property in Seoul, Lanuvo Hannam, as collateral to secure a loan of around 10 billion won for the venture, drawing scrutiny across the industry.
Lacking entertainment experience, Cha partnered with MC Mong for his industry network and brought on Park Jang-geun of hitmaking production duo Double Sidekick — behind chart-toppers for Sistar, Girl's Day and Apink — as chief producer.
In 2023 alone, One Hundred Label acquired two agencies founded by MC Mong: Big Planet Made Entertainment, whose roster included Lee Seung-gi, Shinee's Taemin and comedian Lee Soo-geun; and Million Market.
The following year, Cha acquired Baekhyun's INB100, which also housed Exo-CBX's Chen and Xiumin, and poached The Boyz from IST Entertainment — assembling a multilabel structure in just two years.
But the label's meteoric rise came to an abrupt halt in mid-2025.
In June 2025, Ju Haknyeon of The Boyz was captured by a Japanese tabloid allegedly meeting privately with a former adult video star in Tokyo.
Cha swiftly terminated his contract, but the scandal raised questions about the label's artist management.
The bigger blow came the same month, when she removed MC Mong from his duties.
Cha later told a local media outlet that she had been receiving reports about MC Mong's involvement in prostitution since early 2025. Losing the co-founder who built the label's artist roster left Cha to steer the company alone.
In December 2025, it emerged that Cha had filed a lawsuit seeking 12 billion won in loan repayments from MC Mong, with a court payment order finalised after he did not appeal.
The dispute intensified when a media outlet alleged the two had been romantically involved for years.
Cha denied the claims, saying the evidence had been fabricated under coercion by her uncle, who she said had been attempting a hostile takeover of One Hundred Label in collaboration with a business partner, but the label's image was already damaged.
The most devastating blow came early this year, as artists left en masse.
In February, nine bandmates of The Boyz — all except New — notified the label of their contract termination, citing unpaid settlements and management breaches.
Lee Mu-jin followed in March. In April, Lee Seung-gi, Viviz, Baekho and Exo-CBX all announced contract terminations.
Taemin moved to another agency. Across all three labels under the One Hundred umbrella, only New remained.
Artists alleged the label refused to provide settlement records. Cha's side countered that 16.5 billion won in advance contract fees had already been paid to The Boyz's 11 members upon their transfer to the label.
In June, police sought an arrest warrant for Cha on fraud charges, alleging she received 24.2 billion won in advance payments from a company called Nomos for a business using her artists' intellectual property rights — then failed to execute the project.
After two prior requests were turned back by prosecutors, a third warrant was approved, and Cha was detained on Monday, with the court citing risk of evidence tampering. - The Korea Herald/ANN
