Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
BLANC & ECLARE, the brand of former SNSD member Jessica, is facing a ~$6.8 million lawsuit over alleged unpaid loans that were taken out back in 2016 and 2017.
According to a report from local Hong Kong media via Osen, BLANC & ECLARE is currently facing a ₩8.00 billion KRW (about $6.79 million USD) lawsuit after failing to pay back their debt. BLANC Group, which operates BLANC & ECLARE, borrowed $3 million USD from Spectra SPC in October 2016 and another $1 million USD in May 2017. The loan was transferred to Joyking Enterprise in August 2021, and Joyking Enterprise filed a lawsuit against BLANC & ECLARE for failure to pay back the loan principal and interest, totaling the aforementioned ₩8.00 billion KRW (about $6.79 million USD).
Well, maybe that explains the book delay and the rescheduled Reddit thing.
BLANC & ECLARE was founded by Jessica as a fashion brand in 2014 and the company’s CEO is her boyfriend, Tyler Kwon. Neither the company nor Jessica’s representatives have commented on the situation yet. Jessica has continued to stay active with her public appearances, however she recently cancelled one of her most anticipated events from her foreign fans. She was scheduled to appear on Reddit’s K-Pop talk on September 23, but the event was suddenly postponed hours before happening.
Opening the restaurant above her store (pictured) is, I can only assume, a prime example of why they’re in this situation.
9/30 is two days away but the mess decided to arrive early.
Update
Tyler Kwon, Coridel Entertainment CEO and Jessica’s boyfriend, has responded to the reports in a statement.
Speaking with Korean news outlet MyDaily, Tyler Kwon explained that the situation, which he lamented was “unfair,” had merely arisen due to the loan being transferred to a new creditor. “The situation is one that can be readily resolved,” he said. Tyler Kwon also clarified, “This is not Jessica’s personal debt, but a loan made to the corporation [BLANC & ECLARE].” Referring to misleading reports that suggested the loan had been made to Jessica as an individual, he added, “Her character has been defamed.” According to Tyler Kwon, BLANC & ECLARE initially borrowed $4 million from Spectra SPC, and Spectra SPC transferred that loan to Joy King Enterprises in August. Within one month of the transfer, Joy King Enterprises suddenly demanded that BLANC & ECLARE repay $6.5 million, a figure that includes interest on the loan, in just two weeks. Tyler Kwon remarked, “After we first received the loan from Spectra SPC in 2016, we diligently paid off the loan for about three years. Then, in 2020, due to the situation with COVID-19, we came to an agreement with Spectra SPC to extend the time period of the loan past what we had initially promised.” “However, in August, the loan was transferred to Joy King Enterprises,” he continued, “and without our even knowing that the loan had been transferred, Joy King Enterprises suddenly contacted us and said, ‘Repay the loan within two weeks.’” Tyler Kwon added that even though he explained that BLANC & ECLARE had reached an agreement with Spectra SPC to extend the time period of the loan, Joy King Enterprises continued to insist on the two-week deadline, which ultimately led to a lawsuit. “Because September includes public holidays, we said that if they simply gave us a bit more time, we would be able to resolve the entire matter, but they insisted that we repay everything in two weeks,” said Tyler Kwon. “Considering the scale of our company, it’s a loan that can easily be repaid, but repaying the entire loan plus interest in just two weeks, right after the transfer of the loan, was too much.”
So BLANC & ECLARE does owe the money, but he is claiming that the lawsuit is because they changed the payment schedule. He is basically claiming that the debt is not an issue.
It’s possible that Joy King Enterprises is simply being unreasonable, but these people care about getting their money, so it’s somewhat worrisome that they would resort to a lawsuit. We shall see in the future anyway.
