'Romance is a Bonus Book' star Lee Jong-suk's agency rubbishes rumors he’s dating Kwon Nara, profiting while in military service
Popular Korean actor Lee Jong-suk well-known for movies such 'VIP' and dramas 'Romance is a Bonus Book' was accused of bringing actor Kwon Nara on board his talent agency A-MAN Project while serving in the military and profiting from the same. It has to be noted that in South Korea it is against the law to be a part of any initiative through which military personnel can acquire profits after their enlistment.
A news report by Newsis was published August 1 at 6 a.m. KST and according to a report in Soompi, it was speculated that actors Jong-suk and Kwon Nara had begun dating and that Jong-suk had tried to invite her to join his agency where he was reportedly one of the directors. A source claimed that Jong-suk was essentially the CEO of the company and that he was spotted many a time along with Kwon Nara on dates.
Later, the speculations about the two actors dating were rubbished by a source from A-MAN Project who had said, "The report released today about them dating is false. They only have a close senior-junior relationship."
However, this denial did not help the actor as he was still accused of bringing Kwon Nara on board. A lengthy official statement from A-MAN Project was later released by the company in which they had listed out reasons why the reports published about Jong-suk was not true. The statement, according to a later report in Soompi read, "We are writing to convey the truth regarding the article that was published today about actor Lee Jong-suk, who is under our agency."
The statement continued, "Lee Jong-suk is not listed in the register as an executive director. He had already resigned from the position of executive director on February 20, before he enlisted in the military in March. Cha Kang Hoon, who has a long time of manager experience, is currently running A-MAN Project. Lee Jong Suk’s younger brother Lee Jong Hyuk is registered as the executive director and he is performing related tasks. The person who was previously registered as executive director left the company in April, and they were naturally replaced with someone else."
The statement further said, "Kwon Nara signed her exclusive contract in May, and the official work related to this was carried out by the related managers. Lee Jong-suk is aware of the regulations regarding this and he is currently earnestly carrying out his military service. It is unfair that extremely private matters such as conversations and exchanges between two people have been portrayed as a profit-seeking activity."
The agency also confirmed that the two actors are not dating and said, "We once again confirm that the dating rumors about Lee Jong-suk and Kwon Nara are groundless. In addition, we have captured the actions of those who are creating virulent rumors about our agency’s actors, and we are considering a legal response. We also express that it is unfortunate that there were undiscerning reports with no fact-checking that harm the reputation of our artists."
Jong-suk enlisted in the army March 8 just a week after he wrapped up his TV drama 'Romance is a Bonus Book'. Kwon Nara, on the other hand, joined Jong-suk's agency in June after her band Hello Venus disbanded. She also left Fantagio Entertainment, the talent agency she was associated with for a long time.