Jessica Jung’s fashion brand reportedly caught up in multi-million dollar lawsuit

Blanc & Eclare, the fashion brand founded by singer and entrepreneur Jessica Jung, has reportedly been embroiled in a multi-million dollar lawsuit.

According to a new report by Hong Kong-based daily The Standard, a High Court case has been filed by Joy King Enterprises against Blanc & Eclare investor Tyler Kwon over US$6.8million. Notably, Kwon is also the Chairman and CEO of South Korean media company Coridel Entertainment, which Jung is signed to.

The Standard reports that Blanc Group, which operates Blanc & Eclare, had allegedly first borrowed US$3million from Spectra SPC in October 2016, before lending an additional US$1million from the same company in 2017. Joy King Enterprises later became Blanc Group’s lender last month after it entered into a loan assignment agreement with Spectra SPC.

Joy King Enterprises is looking to recover US$6.8million, which includes both the principal amount and interest, through the lawsuit. The Standard also alleges that Blanc Group has yet to pay back the loan as of September 10, 2021.

Following the report, Kwon spoke out about the lawsuit in an interview with South Korean publication MyDaily, calling the situation “unfair” and as one that can be “readily resolved”, as translated by Soompi.

In addition, Kwon also noted that he and the Blanc Group had “diligently paid off the loan” prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thereafter, the company “came to an agreement with Spectra SPC [in 2020] to extend the time period of the loan”.

Kwon later confirmed that the loan had been transferred from Spectra SPC to Joy King Enterprises, but claimed that it had been done without his or Blanc Group’s knowledge, with Joy King allegedly asking Kwon to “repay the loan within two weeks” after the transfer.

“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,” Kwon added. “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.”

Earlier this month, Jung said that she was set to release new songs soon, after a delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During a recent interview, the former Girls’ Generation member revealed that she will be dropping “several singles” this year, prior to the release of a brand-new solo album.

Earlier this year, Jessica released a brand-new song titled ‘Can’t Sleep’. The track was the musician’s first song in two years, since her collaboration with Korean rapper Giriboy on ‘Call Me Before You Sleep’ in 2019. It is currently unknown if the track will be featured on a future album.