Singer and songwriter Yoo Jae-hwan has been reported to be handed over to the prosecution on fraud charges.

According to a Nov. 8 report by MoneyToday, the Seoul Seo-daemun Police Station forwarded Yoo Jae-hwan to the Seoul Western District Prosecutor's Office without detention in March on fraud charges.

Yoo Jae-hwan is accused of deceiving victim A by promising to compose music for free, excluding labor costs, and embezzling approximately 1.3 million won. At that time, A reportedly communicated with Yoo Jae-hwan about the project via social media in 2022 and deposited 1.3 million won under the guise of progress costs. A filed a complaint against Yoo Jae-hwan for fraud in May of last year and continued to protest until March, demanding that Yoo repay the money, but it has been reported that A has yet to receive any compensation.

The controversy over Yoo Jae-hwan's alleged compositional fraud became known to the public last April through an anonymous post. An online community revealed that although it paid Yoo Jae-hwan 1.3 million won for composition fees, he made excuses for two years without delivering the music, and despite borrowing meal expenses, totaling 1.53 million won, he failed to repay the money. Afterward, more victims emerged claiming that they had commissioned songs from Yoo Jae-hwan in advance but had not received anything after two years due to excuses such as panic disorder or moving, escalating the controversy.

Furthermore, Yoo Jae-hwan continued to accept applications for composition projects even while the work was unfinished. It became known that he delivered songs identical to those he previously composed and released to the victims who commissioned, raising suspicions of 'fund circling.'

In response, Yoo Jae-hwan stated, "There is no room for excuses, and I have directly reached out to individuals who wish to be refunded, providing them with repayment dates. However, the amount is so large that I currently do not have the capacity to repay all at once, so I kindly ask for your understanding regarding partitioning repayments. I will definitely take responsibility and adhere to the dates I provided."

Despite this, additional revelations continued, and Yoo Jae-hwan appeared on SBS's 'Curious Story Y' broadcasted in May of last year, stating, "I have gone bankrupt." He added, "I have been taking medication for panic disorder for 7 or 8 years. I am in such a difficult state that it is hard for me to make judgments now." Later, Yoo Jae-hwan changed his stance, announcing legal action, stating, "I tried to repay out of moral responsibility, but now I can no longer bear it. I will shout not guilty until the day the trial ends. There will be no refunds immediately; I absolutely cannot do that," and also shared a note presumed to be a suicide note, stating, "I have come back to life again."

At that time, Yoo Jae-hwan said, "Victims, now that I have come back to life, I genuinely want to repay. I will reach out to each of you via KakaoTalk or phone calls," but he intensified the controversy by closing his social media accounts.

Meanwhile, on Aug. 8 of last year, 23 victims who suffered losses due to Yoo Jae-hwan stated, "Even though Yoo Jae-hwan received composition fees, he had neither the intention nor the ability to compose music, yet he received a total of over 55 million won from 23 people," and they proceeded with a collective lawsuit. However, in January of this year, the Seoul Gangseo Police Station decided not to prosecute Yoo Jae-hwan due to insufficient evidence.

In February, after the news of non-prosecution was revealed, Yoo Jae-hwan said, "It has been very painful to see unfounded statements circulating as if they were facts in articles. Because of that panic disorder, I was extremely afraid of going outside. However, now I am trying to muster the courage to step out. To those who applied for the free composition project thinking they could have a big dream because of me, and those who supported me in difficult times, I will refund and repay everyone. Of course, it will take some time, but I earnestly request for your patience with a broad mind. For whatever business it may be, whether it's in music or any other area, I will not spend a single penny and will return everything to you."

In response, the victims opened an account on social media in March and posted a statement under the name 'Victim Coalition.' The Victim Coalition pointed out, "Yoo Jae-hwan is demonstrating an attempt to evade legal responsibility by claiming a mental weakness. We believe that such claims cannot absolve him of responsibility, and given the verified planned and repetitive fraudulent actions, he should not be granted immunity on the grounds of mental weakness," and they have filed a prosecutorial appeal regarding the non-prosecution decision.

[Photo] OSEN DB, Victim Coalition SNS

[OSEN]