A man, identified as the father of a popular K-Pop idol, was reportedly prohibited by the Korean authorities from leaving the country over allegations of large-scale fraud.

According to reports, the accused, referred to as Mr. A, was restricted by the Ministry of Justice from traveling overseas. He appealed this decision to the courts, even citing his son’s celebrity status. However, on July 8, KST, the Seoul Administrative Court dismissed Mr. A’s appeal.
Mr. A is currently under investigation for allegedly duping investors out of ₩292 billion KRW (about $212 million USD) over 17 months, starting from September 2022. He promised the victims high returns through a particular platform. When the probe against his fraud began, the Ministry of Justice imposed a travel ban on Mr. A at the police’s request. The ban became effective in April 2024 and has been extended monthly.
After the case was handed over to the prosecution, Mr. A filed an administrative lawsuit in March, seeking to overturn the ban. During the trial, he claimed that he had cooperated with the investigation and reportedly argued that since his second son was a K-Pop idol, he posed no risk of fleeing the country.
Mr. A urged the court to lift the travel restrictions, stating that overseas business trips were a principal part of his work and that the ban could significantly damage his company’s operations. However, the court dismissed his appeal, stating that the criminal charges against Mr. A were major and that it was entirely possible for him to leave the country and stop responding to the summons.
The court also explicitly rejected the argument that Mr. A was not a flight risk simply because of his son’s celebrity status. Lastly, the court dismissed the claim that Mr. A’s business suffered damage due to the travel ban, citing that there was no convincing evidence to prove that the overseas business meetings must be conducted by him alone or that his business had suffered any real damage so far due to the travel ban.
Though the identity of the K-Pop idol has not been disclosed, OSEN mentioned that they contacted their management agency for a statement but couldn’t obtain a response.