Businessman sues to stop sale of Gold Beach Hotel

A Korean businessman has sued his brother in Superior Court for allegedly unlawfully selling their Gold Beach Hotel Saipan for $2.6 million.

Soo Gon Kim is suing Hyung Gon Kim and Northstar Corp. to stop them from selling the 50-room Gold Beach Hotel, located along Beach Road, Garapan.

Soo, through counsel Vincent DLG. Torres, is suing the defendants for breach of Consumer Protection Act, fraud, conversion, and unjust enrichment. He is demanding unspecified damages, attorney’s fees, and court costs.

Soo also asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction prohibiting Hyung and Northstar Corp. from selling the hotel and any other assets of their company, MARISAI Inc.

Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho set a status conference of the case for today, Tuesday, at 1:30pm.

According to the complaint, Soo owns 200,000 shares of MARISAI Inc. since Feb. 25, 1997, while his brother, Hyung, owns 190,000 shares.

Torres said Hyung is director and secretary of MARISAI and that one of the company’s assets is the Gold Beach Hotel. Torres said Soo, who resides in Korea, agreed to allow his brother to be fully in charge of running the hotel.

The lawyer said that on March 10, 2010, Hyung unilaterally transferred Soo’s 200,000 shares to their mother, Tae Bong Kim. Hyung then filed and signed the annual corporate report for the year 2009 reflecting the new transfer, Torres said.

Soo alleged that he did not sell or transfer any of his shares to their mother and that he did not authorize Hyung to make the transfer.

In fact, Torres said, the mother stated that the transfer was illegal and all the shares should be transferred back to Soo.

The lawyer said that, on April 4, 2013, Hyung assigned all of MARISAI’s interest on two lots, where the hotel is situated, to Northstar Corp. He said Hyung is the sole shareholder of Northstar Corp.

Torres said Hyung assigned the properties to his Northstar Corp. in order to take full ownership and control of the properties and hotel for his personal interest and benefit.

Torres said since 2013 up until now, all the interests, benefits and profits generated from the hotel went directly to Northstar, and that Soo and MARISAI continue to receive nothing from these profits.

In Soo’s motions for TRO and preliminary injunction, Torres said sometime in late February 2015, Soo received information that Hyung sold the hotel for $2.6 million and a $600,000 down payment had already been made, with the balance to be paid in full in the next couple of months.

Torres said his client, Soo, came to Saipan to investigate the matter. Soo reportedly found out that the 2009 Annual Corporation Report showed that their mother is the new shareholder of his 200,000 shares and that she is the president of MARISAI.

Torres said Soo also found out that Hyung does not reside on Saipan any more but his wife, Kyong Won Lee, who is the vice president and secretary of Northstar Corp, controls the full operation of Gold Beach Hotel.

Torres said Lee refused to give any information regarding the sale of the hotel and stated that Soo has absolutely no right, shares, or any interests in the hotel.

Torres asserted that time is of the essence in this case because if Hyung completely sells the hotel, receives full payment of the sale, takes the money and flees from the CNMI, Soo will be left with so much damage.