Lee Seungman Adopted Son Couple Sued for Copyright Fraud... "Did Not Inform About Renunciation of Inheritance"

Syngman Rhee (Photo by Asia Economy DB)

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] Dr. Lee In-su, the adopted son of former President Syngman Rhee, and his wife have been accused of fraud and reported to the police.

According to the police on the 8th, Shin Woo-hyun, CEO of the publishing company Gwangchang Media, filed a complaint against Dr. Lee In-su and his wife Jo Hye-ja at Hyehwa Police Station on the 10th of last month. The attendance schedule for the couple will be set according to the progress of the investigation.

In May 2017, Mr. Shin signed a contract with Dr. Lee to transfer the copyright of the book "Japan Inside Out," published in English in 1941, for 3 million won until the end of 2036. "Japan Inside Out" is a book in which former President Rhee analyzed international affairs and is famous for predicting Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor.

However, the contract was made even though Dr. Lee did not have the copyright to this book. Dr. Lee inherited the former president's estate after his death in 1965, but the copyright of "Japan Inside Out" was inherited by his stepmother, Mrs. Francesca. In 1992, Dr. Lee renounced the inheritance of Mrs. Francesca's estate. Accordingly, the copyright of "Japan Inside Out" was inherited by Dr. Lee's children.

Mr. Shin claimed, "The accused delayed registering the copyright transfer after the contract and only informed us of the renunciation of inheritance after filing a civil lawsuit. Based on 12 years of research, I published a corrected proof of the original text in September 2019, but I have been unable to exercise related management rights and my research achievements have been stolen."

Last year, the court ruled in a civil lawsuit filed by Mr. Shin that the copyright of this book belongs to Dr. Lee's children and that the copyright transfer contract was lawfully canceled. Mr. Shin's lawyer explained that this complaint is separate from that ruling and that the accused, who had an obligation to notify the renunciation of inheritance, never mentioned it even once at the time of the contract.

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