Singer Sung Si-kyung and TV personality Ahn Sun-young have both revealed they suffered financial losses allegedly caused by longtime staffers they once considered “like family.”
On Nov. 3, Sung’s agency said in a statement that his former manager “engaged in conduct that betrayed the company’s trust” while employed. After an internal review flagged the seriousness of the situation, the team is working to determine the exact scope of the losses.
The agency added that the staffer has already left the company and that it is overhauling internal controls to prevent anything similar from happening again.
Local reports say the employee at the center of the case had worked with Sung for more than a decade and handled much of his day-to-day business. The alleged misconduct reportedly caused financial damage not only to the singer but also to outside vendors and partners. The sum hasn’t been disclosed but is believed to be significant.
Back in August, Ahn Sun-young said she, too, is pursuing legal action after a trusted employee allegedly embezzled a substantial amount of money from her small company.
In a personal video at the time, Ahn shared that a staffer she treated like family siphoned company funds and has since been indicted by prosecutors. For a small operation, the hit was hard to absorb, she said, adding that the heartbreak hurt even more than the money. Looking back, she said the embezzlement spanned three years and seven months of their four-year run together.
Ahn also reflected on how trust can be exploited. Even with accounting-firm cross-checks, she said, a determined insider can still find ways to steal―alleging the employee used more than eight tactics, including an account under a borrowed name. “It taught me, in the harshest way, that people can be the scariest part of the job,” she said.
After Ahn flew to Canada for her son’s ice hockey training, rumors swirled about a permanent move. She clarified that the trip was a temporary step back to focus on time with her child.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)