Investigation into Alleged Extortion by ‘Lee Seung-gi’s Father-in-law’ Lim Young-kyu for Casino Funds

On May 23rd, MBC’s “True Story of Exploration”aired an episode entitled “I want to file a complaint against my father Lim Young-kyu.”

Despite being a popular actor in the 1980s, Lim Young-kyu’s marriage to Kyeon Mi-ri ended in divorce after six years. In the years that followed, he faced numerous controversies related to allegations of assault and fraud. Despite publicly acknowledging his mistakes on various broadcasts, he was later accused of extorting 200 million won from A, a single mother who had been raising three children alone for 25 years, by A’s son.

A stated that Lim Young-kyu was a regular customer at her bar and they developed a close relationship due to his friendly demeanor. According to A, Lim Young-kyu mentioned that he was struggling with a debt of 200 million won caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, but reassured her by saying, “Don’t worry, I will resolve it within a month or two. I am currently filming in Gangwon-do and once it’s completed, I will receive a payment of 150 million won.”Convinced by his promise to repay her once he received his appearance fees, A began lending him money.

Despite already receiving millions of won from A, Lim Young-kyu continued to demand money for various reasons including monthly rent, fines, and hospital expenses. In a recently released audio recording, Lim Young-kyu can be heard shouting at A in anger when she explained that she had no money, accusing her of refusing to help him with his travel expenses.

On a particular day, Lim Young-kyu approached A with a marriage registration form, stating that he had discovered a means to acquire funds. However, when A declined to register the marriage, Lim Young-kyu informed them that the bank had restricted his account due to poor credit, making it impossible for money to be deposited. Despite this, Lim Young-kyu persisted in urging A to register the marriage, assuring them that payment for filming would be deposited into his account the following day. Feeling desperate after lending Lim Young-kyu 100 million won, A eventually gave in and proceeded to register the marriage.

After registering their marriage, Lim Young-kyu abruptly left for Gangwon-do, citing a work commitment. However, he failed to fulfill his promise of sending A the money on the agreed upon day. A, who had borrowed money to lend to Lim Young-kyu, was overwhelmed with guilt and decided to run away from home. She later found out that her son’s house had been taken and she ended up being hospitalized for a month due to acute pyelonephritis.

However, Lim Young-kyu, whom the production team also met with, shared that he had invested in cryptocurrency and incurred significant losses. However, he argued that the money used for the investment belonged to his wife and was given to him as business funds. In his opinion, there was nothing wrong with using the funds in this way, as they were already married regardless of whether he pays it back or not.

After examining Lim Young-gyu’s credit issues, the production crew noticed that frequent withdrawals were made near a casino entrance and in a nearby village in Gangwon-do using A’s card. The total amount withdrawn in this area within six months was more than 80 million won. Local restaurant owners stated that it was common knowledge in the area that Lim Young-gyu had connections to the casino. One of the owners even mentioned seeing Kim Young-kyu at the casino with different women each time, and that he often boasted about his son-in-law. According to the owner, Kim Young-kyu complained that Lee Seung-gi had not even bought him a car

The program released a recorded voice message of Lim Young-kyu in which he can be heard saying, “My fellow celebrity had already informed Lee Seung-gi, ‘You should show care for your father-in-law during his difficult times’. In response, Lee Seung-gi apologized and promised to visit soon. As a result, the program urged the person to retrieve the money from XX.”

Longtime acquaintances of Lim Young-kyu have also verified that he frequently visits the casino and has complex relationships with women.

Despite A filing a complaint against Lim Young-kyu with the police, it is proving to be a difficult case as the law exempts family members from punishment for property crimes committed within the family. Lim Young-kyu had deceived A by falsely claiming to have landed a role in a movie, and the money she lent him was supposedly to confirm his role. When A proposed the idea of divorce, Lim Young-kyu refused, stating “Are you trying to divorce me just to sue me? I will never allow it.”

Despite being questioned about his withdrawals from the casino’s ATM, Lim Young-kyu continued to deny ever having visited the casino. He even threatened to take legal action against the production team if they spread any false information that could harm his reputation. After making this statement, he promptly left the scene.