Prosecution Captures Circumstantial Evidence that Yang Hyun-suk Requested the Watch First
YG: “Unaware of Any Text Messages… Sponsorship for Promotional Purposes”
Yang Hyun-suk, the chief producer of YG Entertainment, who has been put on trial for allegedly receiving luxury watches from abroad without declaring them at customs, was revealed to have requested the watches initially. This contradicts YG Entertainment’s explanation that the watches were sponsored for promotional purposes. Of the two watches Yang received, one is valued at over 700 million KRW.
According to legal sources, the Public and International Crime Investigation Department of the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Yang Hyun-suk without detention on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (Customs) on the 13th of last month. Yang is alleged to have brought two luxury watches, worth approximately 828 million KRW, into the country without declaring them when he entered through Incheon International Airport on September 16, 2014.
According to the indictment obtained by , Yang got to know B, the Asia representative of a Swiss luxury watch brand A, through a YG in-house composer in 2013. Maintaining a friendly relationship, B gave Yang a watch from brand A that B was wearing, which Yang subsequently wore in broadcasts. It is reported that B also covered various travel expenses such as hotels and meals when Yang visited Singapore.
Amidst this, the prosecution considers that Yang expressed to B his desire to obtain a watch with a skull pattern from brand A. According to the prosecution, Yang, who was scheduled to visit Singapore from September 12 to 16 in 2014 for concerts featuring YG artists and luxury brand investment ceremonies, sent a message to B in English before his departure on August 27-29, asking, “I really wanna get the watch I have been asking about.” B replied, “It’s ready for you my dear.”
Yang received the watch in Singapore on September 13 and wore it immediately at an investment ceremony held at a hotel. The skull-patterned watch from brand A that Yang received is priced at 711 million KRW, with a manufacturing cost of at least 208 million KRW. He later also obtained an additional black watch worth 116 million KRW. These two models, discontinued 10 years ago, are not available in the market presently.
Under Article 241 of the Customs Act, anyone importing goods from abroad must declare the name, specifications, quantity, and price of the goods and other matters prescribed by Presidential Decree. Failing to declare can lead to imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to ten times the customs duty or the cost price of the goods, whichever is higher. If the imported goods’ manufacturing cost is between 200 million KRW and 500 million KRW, aggravated punishment under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes applies.
YG Entertainment maintains their stance that the watches were broadcasted as sponsored products for promotional purposes. A YG representative stated, “We do not have any particular knowledge about the English messages exchanged between Yang and B, so we have no additional statement to make and maintain our existing position.”
Last month on the 13th, YG explained, “In 2017, when it was discovered that the company had brought in or taken out multiple watches without customs clearance, Yang’s sponsored watches were also investigated. Yang cooperated with the investigation and voluntarily submitted the sponsored watches to the investigative agency because he wanted to avoid getting involved in minor issues as a public figure.”
They added, “During the investigation, the representative’s statements were inconsistently changed, and the prosecution, who was closing in on the 10-year statute of limitations, hastily prosecuted without conducting proper reference investigations aligning with Yang’s statements, thus making a premature and burdensome prosecution decision, prompting deep regret.
Yang Hyun-suk’s first trial is scheduled to be held at the Seoul Western District Court at 11 AM on the 15th of next month.