Singer Sung Si-kyung taking questions. Photo by Lee Sun-myung 57km@kyunghyang.com

Manager Mr. A, who was reported to have caused financial damage to singer Sung Si-kyung, received a non-referral decision regarding the embezzlement allegation. This was because the side of Sung Si-kyung did not wish to pursue punishment.

Seoul Yeongdeungpo Police Station recently decided not to refer Mr. A on the occupational embezzlement allegation and closed the investigation, as confirmed on the 12th.

On this, police stated that they contacted SK Jaewon (the agency representing Sung Si-kyung) as the victim, but the victim side did not want Mr. A to be punished and did not want the investigation to continue.

Police added that they could not reach a definitive conclusion on the allegation against Mr. A, that a non-referral decision was evident even if the investigation continued, and that there was no need to proceed further.

Mr. A, a longtime manager who worked with Sung Si-kyung, was known to have caused financial damage by siphoning off VIP tickets under the pretext of cracking down on scalping and channeling proceeds into a bank account in the name of his wife. Sung Si-kyung also shared that he felt betrayed by someone he had trusted.

As Sung Si-kyung concerts had run for a long period and Mr. A had worked with him for many years, the scale of the damages is estimated to be considerable.

The person who filed the complaint against Mr. A was a third party, not Sung Si-kyung or an agency official. In the complaint filed on the 10th of last month, the complainant urged an investigation, stating that the case went beyond a private dispute involving a particular entertainer and was directly tied to trust⋅transparency⋅fairness in the pop culture and arts industry, and that indications of diverting performance tickets for private gain cause direct harm to good-faith consumers and diligent workers, requiring stern action in accordance with law and principle.

With Sung Si-kyung and agency officials not cooperating with the investigation, the case sank into uncertainty. Some interpret this as the risk posed by managers who hold leverage over affiliated entertainers being at play, as seen in the recent disclosure case involving the manager of Park Na-rae.

Separately, the agency of Sung Si-kyung and his elder sister, who serves as its head, were sent without detention on suspicion of operating an unregistered pop culture and arts management business. Sung Si-kyung, who was also reported in the same complaint, received a non-referral decision. Police said they had found no objective evidence indicating that Sung Si-kyung was directly involved in running the agency.

The agency representing Sung Si-kyung had operated without registration for the pop culture and arts management business from its establishment in February 2011 until recently. At the time, Mr. A told this newspaper that he did not know relevant statutes existed.