Cha Ye Ryun Opens Up About Personal Struggles Due To Her Father's Fraud And Apologizes To Victims

On November 28, MyDaily reported exclusively that they had received information that a man who had been sentenced to three years in prison for land trade fraud was the father of actress Cha Ye Ryun.

When the actress was contacted for comment, she acknowledged the reports and apologized for her father’s actions. She also opened up about her family history for the first time to give a proper explanation to the victims of her father’s fraud. She stated, “Ever since I was 19 years old, I have not seen my father for the past 15 years, but I have still done my best to pay off his debt for the past 10 years.”

Cha Ye Ryun said that after she made her debut, and her name and face became well-known, “People I didn’t know became coming to filming locations or our agency, and they would ask me to pay back the money my father borrowed from them. Some would hold on to me and explain their situation, and others would get physically violent towards me.” She said that she had been scared of her father’s actions becoming public, but after hearing that people had lent her father money out of trust as he had used her name and status as a celebrity, “I felt a sense of responsibility, so I took out my own loans to repay their debts. There have been times when I used all of my salary to repay the money my father had borrowed.”

She confessed, “Every day, I was terrified of opening my eyes. I would repay one debt, and then another debt would face me, and that was the life I lived.” She revealed that she had repaid approximately one billion won (approximately $883,745) for her father.

Cha Ye Ryun explained that her parents are currently divorced. She said, “I just keep hoping there are no more victims of my father’s actions. I will do my best to resolve the situation. Once again, I apologize to everyone.”

Cha Ye Ryun’s father received a prison sentence of three years for fraud in 2015. At the time, the news described him as “The father of a famous actress.” Cha Ye Ryun’s father was charged after approaching the victim and gaining their trust by using his daughter’s name and celebrity status. He offered to buy the victim’s land in Paju, Gyeonggi Province for one billion won (approximately $883,745), but only paid a portion and promised to pay the full amount at a later date. He then used the land as collateral to buy rice crops, which he then cultivated and sold for a profit of approximately 750 million won (approximately $662,940).

The fraud victim stated that their parents had lost their life savings to Cha Ye Ryun’s father. They gave their reasoning for revealing that the famous actress mentioned in 2015 was Cha Ye Ryun by stating, “We know that Cha Ye Ryun did not directly have a hand in this fraud case. However, we wanted to report this because her father used her name to commit his fraud, and he only received three years in prison for his crimes. He will be released from prison next year, so we felt the need to report this so there won’t be any more victims of his fraud.”

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