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Clara, Ilgwang chairman reach settlement

September 21, 2015

Clara, left, and Ilgwang Group Chairman Lee Kyu-tae have reached a settlement. (Korea Times file)

By Jhoo Dong-chan

Actress Clara Lee has dropped a civil case against Ilgwang Group Chairman Lee Kyu-tae.

According to the Seoul Central District Court, Monday, Clara recently submitted a withdrawal application, in which she sought to annul her contract with her agency, Polaris Entertainment, where Lee is also chairman.

The actress said she would not take any further legal action against Lee over his alleged threat to her.

In return, Polaris Entertainment has agreed to terminate its contract with Clara.

The settlement has ended a nine-month legal battle.

Last December, the actress, 29, filed a lawsuit against Lee, demanding he cancel her contract with the agency, claiming the chairman sexually harassed her via text messages.

The agency counter-sued, claiming Clara fabricated her claims and blackmailed Lee by saying she would report him for making sexually harassing remarks unless Polaris terminated the contract.

However, prosecutors concluded Clara’s claim was reasonable, clearing her of her alleged threats to Lee. Instead, they indicted Lee without detention for alleged blackmail by using his social position.

Clara claimed Lee had bragged about his past career in the spy agency and police, threatening that he could “rummage through her smartphone activities whenever he wished.”

Lee also allegedly asked Clara several times to end her acting career and work as his personal lobbyist because he valued her fluency in English.