Blackpink's Lisa swindled of more than $1m by former manager

The manager had promised to use the money to invest in real estate on Lisa's behalf but ultimately blew all the money gambling. PHOTO: LALALALISA_M/INSTAGRAM

SEOUL - Blackpink's Lalisa Manoban, known by the mononym Lisa, has been swindled of 1 billion won (S$1.14 million) by a former manager. This has been confirmed by YG Entertainment, which manages the South Korean girl group.

On June 2, South Korean news publication, Market News, reported that a former manager, A, had promised to use the money to invest in real estate on Lisa's behalf but ultimately blew all the money gambling.

According to an anonymous informant, A had allegedly worked with Blackpink since their debut. The incident came as a surprise to many as the former manager was well-respected and trusted by both the company's employees and the group's members.

Korean pop culture website Soompi quoted the source as saying: "Because Lisa is a foreign member and has been in Korea by herself since she was young, she is very vulnerable to these things. It is very unfortunate that these things happen in the industry. This is a serious situation that can damage the management's image."

Following the report, YG Entertainment released a statement confirming the case.

"After looking into the matter, we confirmed that Lisa was a victim of fraud by former manager 'A'".

The statement added that Lisa "wishes to settle this amicably, as the former manager was someone Lisa had trusted".

"Manager 'A' has reimbursed a part of the sum and has left the company after agreeing on a plan to repay the balance."

YG Entertainment assured that measures would be taken to prevent such incidents from occurring again.

"We are embarrassed by the misconduct of 'A', and fee responsible for the management and supervision. We are taking preventive measures so that this does not happen again."

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