Businessman David Yong of Netflix's Super Rich In Korea wins court approval to travel abroad for third time

SINGAPORE: The State Courts on Tuesday (Sep 9) approved businessman David Yong's application to travel to Japan and China for business later this month. He is facing various fraud-related charges.  

The 38-year-old Singaporean, whose full name is Yong Khung Lin, asked for permission to travel to Tokyo, Hakone and Yokohoma, from Sep 12 to Sep 22, then to Shanghai from Sep 22 to Sep 25 before returning to Singapore.

Yong, who was out on bail of S$1 million (US$780,000), was granted approval with an additional bail sum of S$500,000, among other conditions, bringing his total bail amount to S$1.5 million.

Yong is the chief executive officer of multinational business and holding company Evergreen Group Holdings, and has appeared on the Netflix show Super Rich in South Korea, which showcases the lifestyles of extremely affluent people who set up base in Korea. 

He was charged on Aug 3, last year. Four charges relate to the falsification of accounts, including abetting others to falsify papers belonging to Evergreen GH with intent to defraud.

He was given a fifth charge under the Securities and Futures Act on Jun 3, 2025.  

The case is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on Oct 17.

TRAVELLING FOR BUSINESS

Yong's lawyer Aaron Lim from Dentons Rodyk told the court on Tuesday that his client needs to attend business meetings with partners in Japan.

He also needs to seek legal advice from a Japanese law firm to recover money over a failed property purchase, said Mr Lim. 

In China, his client would be seeking legal advice from a Chinese law firm over a shareholder dispute. Yong was asked to be physically present to retrieve and review documents, and to give instructions.

The prosecution did not object to the application and asked for bail conditions similar to his previous trips to be imposed on Yong. 

Granting the application, District Judge James Elisha Lee set out the bail conditions, including how Yong must report to his investigating officer twice daily via video calls and share his location during his video calls.

Yong must also be tagged upon his return to Singapore on Sep 25.

Yong's present application to leave jurisdiction is the third to be granted by the district court. He was previously twice granted permission to travel overseas for business.

Before that, Yong had filed three similar applications, but these had been denied on the grounds that he posed a flight risk.