사진 확대 Yang Chi Seung. Photo: Star Today DB
Yang Chi Seung, a fitness trainer and broadcaster who reportedly suffered losses of around 1.5 billion KRW due to a building lease fraud, revealed that he was sexually harassed during the forced closure of his gym.
On the 27th, Yang Chi Seung released a video titled “Until the Day the Gym Was Demolished” on his YouTube channel.
Yang Chi Seung closed his gym in July after running it for six years. He explained, “I had a feeling that forced eviction was imminent, so I had to prepare quickly. I even sold my car in advance, but just a few days later, the eviction was enforced.” He recalled, “It was early July, and they told me I had to vacate the gym within a week.”
He continued, “I debated whether to talk about this. Three court officers came to enforce the eviction. One of them said, ‘Oh, you have a great physique. I really want to touch your chest.’ At the time, I was too overwhelmed to react, but as days passed, I felt increasingly upset. How could a court officer say such a thing?”
He emphasized, “The other party is already in a very difficult situation, and such behavior is unacceptable. Please do not make such mistakes elsewhere. This should never happen.”
사진 확대 Video Released by Yang Chi Seung at the Time. Photo: YouTube
The released footage showed a court officer touching Yang Chi Seung’s chest, which caused further shock.
Yang Chi Seung opened his gym in 2018 in a commercial building located in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. However, the building was constructed under a ‘donation for public use’ condition, meaning that after 20 years of free use, management and operation rights would be transferred to the Gangnam-gu Office.
Yang Chi Seung previously stated that he was not informed of this condition at the time of signing the contract.
When the Gangnam-gu Office took over management and operation rights, it notified the leasing companies to vacate. Yang Chi Seung lost a lawsuit filed by the Gangnam-gu Office for the return of the building, and ultimately closed his gym after vacating the premises.
Through YouTube and interviews, Yang Chi Seung has argued that both the district office and the landlord failed to clearly specify and notify tenants about the expiration of the lease.
In this process, Yang Chi Seung reported suffering losses of up to 1.5 billion KRW, including an unrecovered deposit, unpaid rent, facility costs, and refunds to gym members.
Yang Chi Seung is scheduled to appear as a witness at the upcoming Parliamentary Inspection of the Administration at the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea next month. Yeom Tae-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), who requested his attendance, stated, “We have called Yang Chi Seung as a witness to hear about cases of lease fraud and requests for countermeasures occurring in public infrastructure facilities from the perspective of affected tenants.”
Yang Chi Seung has expressed his intention to attend and is expected to speak about his experience and requests for legislative action at the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee’s inspection session starting next month.