Prosecutors Question Director Jang Hang-jun as Witness Regarding Kakao Entertainment's Alleged Overpriced Acquisition of Baram Pictures

The prosecution summoned director Jang Hang-jun as a witness for questioning regarding suspicions of an overpriced acquisition of a drama production company by Kakao Entertainment.

According to the legal community on the 7th, the Financial Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kwon Chan-hyuk) summoned Director Jang as a witness for questioning in early last month. Director Jang served as an internal director at the drama production company Baram Pictures, which was acquired by Kakao Entertainment, from 2017 to 2019. It is also known that Jang's wife, writer Kim Eun-hee, participated as an early shareholder in Baram Pictures and signed a script contract.

Director Jang Hang-jun

Kakao Entertainment acquired the drama production company Baram Pictures in 2020 for 20 billion won, but is suspected of purchasing it at an excessively high price compared to the company's value at the time. The prosecution believes that Kakao Entertainment CEO Kim Sung-soo and Investment Strategy Division Head Lee Junho conspired to acquire Baram Pictures, in which Lee's wife, actress Yoon Jeong-hee, had invested, at an inflated price to funnel capital gains. Baram Pictures had been operating at a loss for several years at the time of acquisition in 2020.

A prosecution official recently told reporters, "Ms. Yoon is still a witness and has not yet been summoned for questioning."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.