SOURCE: "스폰서 제안하며 옷 벗으라고…" 이자은, 기획사 사기·협박 피해 전해
Lee Jaeun opened up about the unfair treatment and fraud she suffered at the hands of an agency official during her rookie days.
On the 29th, Lee Jaeun shared through the Youtube channel 'Make Us New CBS,' saying, "I wanted to film movies. I didn't want to live a life like a movie, but I ended up living one."
She recalled, "During my rookie days, I went around to audition in different agencies. There was this one agency, where the man who called himself the CEO sat and talked to me about the entertainment industry. I felt something strange about his gaze."
She continued, "He told me, 'You can't make it alone in this world,' and said I would need a sponsor and a help from the company. He asked if I worked out and said he would register me at a gym and a dermatology clinic in Gangnam. Then, he told me he would set me up with a sponsor."
At the time, Lee Jaeun said she was shocked and confused by what she heard. She confessed, "He lowered the office blinds and told me that he needed to 'verify' me first before setting me up with a sponsor. He told me to take off my clothes and then he started undressing himself. Then, he lunged at me. I was so scared that I ran out crying. It was extremely shocking."
She added, "Even though it's not common now, things like this happened all the time back then. I was completely devastated." The host, Joo Younghoon commented, "In the past, former members of crime organization or bar owners often ran entertainment companies. I was once dragged somewhere because they wanted me to write a song."
Lee Jaeun also shared that she was scammed multiple times afterward and suffered financial damages. At the time, she developed panic disorder and started going to church with her older sister.
She also shared another story about living in a situation close to confinement. She said, "There was someone I met through the CEO of my agency at the time. He said he would acquire the company and asked me to sign a new contract. When I looked at it, the contract included support for casting as well as living expenses, housing, and a car."
She continued, "At first, he seemed like a gentleman, but there were gangsters around him and he gradually started using scary language. He only provided me a hotel to stay in. He said he would handle casting efforts. It was like I was almost confined."
Lee Jaeun said she couldn't even report the situation because she was afraid her family would be harmed. She recalled, "There were people watching me. They even knew where I went and who I met," adding, "I wasn't in my right mind either."
She added, "When I saw my pitiful reflection in the mirror, I suddenly I had to act. So, I ran outside without thinking, but even the taxi driver seemed like he might be involved with them, which scared me. I had been gaslighted. My delusions got even worse at the time." She emphasized, "When things were hardest, the only one I could hold onto was God. I think that was when I prayed the most."
Regarding why she chose the path of acting, she said, "As an actor, you have to express and empathize with people's pain. Until then, I thought my life wasn't difficult. However, after entering university, I struggled a lot financially."
