‘Squid Game’ star Lee Jung-jae accused of trying to take over production company RaemongRaein

Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae has been accused of trying to take over production company RaemongRaein, best known for K-dramas Maestra and Reborn Rich.

Today (June 10), Lee Jung-jae and his company Artist United were accused by Kim Dong-rae, CEO of RaemongRaein, of trying to usurp control of the production company in a press statement, per The Korea Herald and The Korea Times.

Kim’s press statement comes amid a legal dispute between Artist United and RaemongRaein, with the former having filed an application with the court seeking approval to hold an extraordinary general meeting to appoint RaemongRaein’s directors.

Artist United had become the largest shareholder of the publicly listed RaemongRaein this March, after having acquired 18.44 per cent of the company. Notably, Lee is the largest shareholder of Artist United witha 23.49 per cent stake, while also owning 5.12 per cent of RaemongRaein.

In his press statement, Kim alleged that Artist United had “used Raemongraein’s funds to acquire a suspended entertainment company” and that the move was “contrary to our initial discussions before the investment”.

“This move by [Lee and Artist United], just three months after becoming the largest shareholder, appears to be an attempt to use Raemongraein’s cash assets as a shell to acquire another company,” Kim added in his statement.

Kim also mentioned Lee directly in his statement, claiming that the actor “has never visited the company or presented any vision for its management”. He added: “I call on Lee Jung-jae and the other investors to stop these unjust attempts and engage in sincere and reasonable discussions for the growth and development of Raemongraein.”

Meanwhile, a legal representative of Artist United claimed in a statement to The Korea Times that Kim has “refused to comply with the investors’ requests” and “ignored the rightful request for an extraordinary general meeting, blocking investor participation in management”.