By Gemma Q. Casas
Variety News Staff

A SOUTH Korean businessman who claims he was unjustly treated by a group of Japanese businessmen operating Plumeria Resort yesterday filed a civil action in Superior Court.
Wan Jin Yoon, through attorney Richard W. Pierce, is seeking judgment against Hiroyuki Mikami, Hitoshi Taniguchi, Three Bell System Co. Ltd., and 21 Club Corp.
All defendants who are based in Tokyo were sued for breach of fiduciary duty by controlling members and agents.
The executives are directors of the Saipan Achugao Resort Association, or Sarma, the governing body of the subleasehold-owners of Plumeria Resort, a resort/hotel located in Saipan’s Achugao village.
Yoon owns the hotel room units and the commercial area of Plumeria Resort while Three Bell and 21 Club are subleasehold owners of other units at the hotel.
According to the complaint, Sarma took control of the hotel in March 2003.
“While purporting to be a nonprofit entity, Sarma members joined together into a profit-making enterprise in which they pooled their resources and shared in losses and income allegedly in proportion to their ownership interest in the Plumeria Resort,” the complaint stated. “Sarma served and serves as the umbrella facilitator for this profit enterprise.”
Yoon claims that Sarma mismanaged the hotel by lending money to some Japanese firms; putting in an incompetent management, among other allegations.
He also claims that Sarma wants his ownership interest at Plumeria to be removed.
“Beginning in Dec. 2002 and continuing to the present, defendants Three Bell and 21 Club in a continuing breach of their duties to Mr. Yoon, and in order to obtain continued control of the Plumeria Resort and Mr. Yoon’s property interest in the Plumeria Resort and to squeeze Mr. Yoon out of ownership at Plumeria: caused Sarma and the Plumeria Resort to operate at a deficit of over $40,000 per month on average, with no capacity for operating at break-even, much less a profit, to the financial harm of Mr. Yoon,” the complaint stated.
Yoon is seeking punitive damages to be determined at trial as well as disgorgement of all funds, assets and profits received or made by Three Bell System and 21 Club.
He also wants a jury trial.
The defendants were summoned to answer in writing Poon’s complaint within 20 days.