YG Entertainment issues official apology after former BLACKPINK manager pulls ~ $800K scam on Lisa

Earlier on June 2, media outlet reported that a former manager of BLACKPINK and a longtime employee of YG Entertainment, known as 'A', was fired after scamming member Lisa out of an amount of approximately 1 billion KRW (~ 800,000 USD). 

Reportedly, 'A' told Lisa that they would be looking for real estate purchase opportunities, and asked her for 1 billion KRW. After Lisa provided 'A' with the amount, 'A' allegedly blew the amount gambling. 

Media outlets say that 'A' was a long-time employee of YG Entertainment, managing BLACKPINK since the group's debut and well-established within YGE. Furthermore, after finding out about the scam, insiders relay that Lisa is currently struggling with fear, anxiety, and betrayal. 

In response to the above reports, YG Entertainment stated,

"After investigating internally, we have learned that Lisa was scammed by a former manager, 'A'. 

Due to Lisa's wishes to bring the matter to a settlement quietly, as 'A' was a manager whom Lisa trusted; 'A' has repaid a portion of their debt and will be repaying the remainder of the amount accordingly. 'A' is also currently no longer an employee of the company. 

We would like to bow our heads in apology for causing severe concern to many fans who love our artists. We are currently greatly disconcerted over 'A's actions, taking ill-advantage of an artist's trust; we feel the significant weight of the responsibility and the misdirection of this.

We will prepare preventative measures to ensure that such a concerning event does not happen again." 

Meanwhile, BLACKPINK's Lisa is well-known by many K-Pop fans as the first foreign artist to debut under YG Entertainment. The agency is expected to face severe criticism for this recent news.