'A' told 'TVDaily' this past October 10, "Yesterday (the 9th), the courts made a decision. They ruled that the three cafe owners that Psy's lawyer had filed suit against be cleared of their charges. We won the case."
Psy's lawyer had filed a total of four lawsuits seeking damages--30 million KRW (~$26,000 USD) against the three cafe owners, 10 million KRW (~$8,745 USD) against designer Kwon Joon Ho, and 7 million KRW (~$6,122 USD) and 4 million KRW (~$3,497 USD) against artist Shin Je Hyun for defamation.
'A' said, "This past March 13, Psy trespassed our property but he filed suit claiming that the articles released about his trespass weren't true. In the litigation process, the courts requested for the presentation of clear evidence. But the evidence submitted by Psy were malicious and slanderous. There was no evidence to prove defamation so the case resulted in acquittal of the charges. Psy had brought suit against Kwon Joon Ho for writing about his violent behavior but there was no intent on his part to taint Psy's reputation. Shin Je Hyun was sued for the first time this past April and July for the infringement on the usage of copyrighted photos, among others. Because he was in France at the time, he couldn't properly respond and now his property is under foreclosure."
'A' also won the lawsuits that Psy submitted against him and two others for eviction, unfair profits, and restoration of property this past August 13. One of the suits were dismissed, and the litigation expenses must also be recompensed by Psy. One cafe owner has lost a part of the suit, but is in the process of appealing the decision.
In April of 2010, 'T' cafe opened for business in Hannam-dong and entered into a contract after receiving the promise from the landlord that "the lease could be renewed every year if the tenant so desires." A problem arose six months later when that same landlord sold the building. According to the laws at the time, once the landlord changes, the tenants are no longer protected under the original contractual terms.
The courts had stated that due to the governing laws at the time, there is nothing they could do to help and suggested [for the tenants and the new landlord] to come to an agreement for a specified period of time. The new owner had requested for the tenants to empty the building for reasons of 'reconstruction,' and filed an eviction suit. In December of 2011, the courts provided a revised decision for the tenants to pay a deposit and to evict the building by the end of December in 2013.
However, before December 2013 came around, the landlord changed once again, as Psy had purchased the building for 7.8 billion KRW (~$6.8 million) in February of 2012. Psy put pressure on the tenants, saying that he will open up a franchise coffee shop in the building and asked for them to heed the court's ruling. The cafe owners rebutted Psy's request by reminding him that because the ruling was based upon the premise of reconstruction, it is null.
'A' stated, "From what I know, when Psy purchased the building, he had to pay a premium which reduced the price of the building. Psy had admitted that he knew nothing of the dispute [between the landlord and the tenants] but it's hard to fathom that he bought a 7.8 billion KRW building without knowing about the existing lawsuit with the tenants. He even visited the cafe a couple of times."
'A' further claimed that he suffered through abusive language from the reps from Psy's agency. He said, "At the time, the courts hadn't even revealed their final revised decision but people from Psy's agency came by and said a lot of insulting things. A person who claimed to be Psy's manager threw a checkbook at us, telling us, 'The owner changed so deposit your money here,' and 'Wrap things up quickly and leave.' When I complained why I have to leave when they're going to open up another cafe anyway, they filed suit."
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'A' revealed that Yang Hyun Suk got involved in the litigation, when he and 25 people representing the cafe wrote up an agreement. A lawyer drafted the official document for the agreement but he had revised a lot of the content. When they brought this up to Yang Hyun Suk, he claimed he had nothing to say about the matter because he was "a third party."
'A' explained, "Though the agreement was breached, we decided to compromise. But Psy is the one that ultimately didn't sign the documents in court. We never heard that the agreement was broken off. Yang Hyun Suk himself didn't directly state that the agreement fell through. But people keep saying that we refused to come to an agreement. In the end, it was Psy who suggested an agreement, and it was also Psy who refused to reach an agreement. The media reported that the cafe demanded 1 billion KRW (~$874,000 USD) but we never asked for money."
Meanwhile, Psy's lawyer had asserted this past September 21, "The opposing party's claims have no basis whatsoever. The bailiff only intervened because [the tenants] didn't yield to the forced eviction even after the court's ruling. It was actually the tenants who obstructed justice. We acted fairly in accordance with the due legal processes." However, when contacted for a statement regarding the recent ruling on the defamation lawsuit and the fall out of the agreement, Psy couldn't be reached.
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