YG Entertainment chief indicted for smuggling luxury watches

Yang Hyun-suk, chief producer of YG Entertainment, has been indicted on charges of smuggling high-end wrist watches from overseas in 2014, according to the Busan District Prosecutors' Office.

Yang Hyun-suk at the Seoul High Court in southern Seoul on Nov. 8, 2023 [YONHAP]

Yang Hyun-suk, chief producer of YG Entertainment, has been indicted on charges of smuggling high-end wrist watches from overseas in 2014, according to the Busan District Prosecutors' Office.

Yang, the 54-year-old founder of K-pop agency YG Entertainment, allegedly received two wrist watches "that cost hundreds of millions of won" as gifts in Singapore and brought it to Korea without reporting it to the customs service, according to the prosecution.

The case was made known when the Busan Customs Service found that the watch manufacturer had imported numerous watches without declaring the products to customs service. Yang's case was also investigated as part of the manufacturer's tax evasion cases.

Investigations were slowed down because the manufacturer's CEO was abroad, according to prosecution.

YG Entertainment denied allegations on Friday, arguing that the wrist watches were provided to Yang for promotional purposes and that Yang wore them on television in return.

"We are deeply regretful about the prosecutors' hasty decision to make the indictment just ahead of the 10-year statute of limitations is about to run out," the agency said in a statement.

"Yang had faithfully participated in investigations in 2017 and voluntarily handed in the wrist watches to investigators in order not to get involved in even the smallest issues as a well-known figure."

Yang was found guilty of coercing an informant to withdraw a testimony against one of his former artists in an appeals court last November. The Seoul High Court ruled that Yang abused his power to force an informant into meeting him. He was sentenced to six months in prison but suspended the sentence for a year.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]