VANCOUVER — Assault, embezzlement and libel are just a few of the accusations several members of a nearly 50-year-old Vancouver cultural association are launching at one another as an internal power struggle boils over into the courts.
Over a dozen members of the Korean Society of B.C. for Fraternity and Culture have launched a litany of lawsuits against their associates, brimming with acerbic denunciations and competing narratives over who exactly leads the cultural club.
The civic association provides programs for its members, including teaching English and computer skills. It also hosts social events like dances and ping pong games and co-ordinates sport lessons at its community centre near the city's Downtown Eastside.
Allegations contained in the series of lawsuits have not been proven in court.
Businessman Jung Ju Lee was elected president of the society in July 2014. That much both sides agree on, though there is little else in the way of overlap between the versions of events contained in documents filed in both provincial court and B.C. Supreme Court.
Documents say a group of directors on the society's board soon became frustrated and angry by Jung's conduct and decided to oust him. Accusations included dubious money management, cronyism and defamation — all of which Jung rejected in later court filings.
Several failed attempts to expel Jung culminated in a Mar. 24 meeting at which court documents allege he bussed in troops of supporters, assaulted board directors and hired private security guards to "control and intimidate" members, leading to police being called. Court documents claim he later invoiced the society for the cost of the guards.
Separate court statements indicate Jung officially closed the meeting and left after the group failed to meet the minimum number of voting members allowed. Jung later launched a lawsuit urging the courts to declare null and void the meeting that immediately followed, where the remaining so-called "dissidents" voted to remove him from office.
In subsequent months, both Jung and the opposing members accused each other of changing the locks to the society's headquarters, illegally appointing new board directors and falsely claiming to lead the Korean society.
Throughout this period, Jung was also embroiled in a lawsuit against former society office manager Ho Jin Lee, who had been rehired in 2014 to oversee the creation of the society's lucrative annual business directory.
As the newly elected president, Jung accused Ho in court documents of financial mismanagement, including holding onto $20,000 collected from the previous year's publication. In his statement of claim, he also levelled allegations of embezzlement against the outgoing president, Yong Hoon Lee, who had initially hired Ho.
According to court documents, Ho resigned from his office manager post in July of 2014, though Ho claimed in separate documents that he retained the directory contract.
Jung disagreed and gave the job to someone else — a friend, as alleged by some society members in their lawsuit — prompting Ho to sue the president for breach of contract. That set off a countersuit by Jung claiming damages over the money Ho was continuing to collect from advertisers.
"(Ho's) act is frivolous, impertinent, disgusting, scandalous and constitutes an abuse of process of the court and contempt of court," said Jung in court documents. "(He) is very insincere, unreliable and untrustworthy."
On Aug. 1, the society's alleged new president withdrew legal action Jung had launched against Ho over directory finances and agreed to pay Ho $43,000, prompting Jung to complain to a judge that someone was acting on his behalf without his consent.
In the wake of Jung's protest, the court has since frozen legal proceedings in a number of cases until it can decipher from the litigious morass who exactly is the rightful president of the society.
Neither Jung Ju Lee nor Ho Jin Lee could be reached for comment. Court actions are ongoing.
