FIFTY FIFTY’s CEO Jeon, “The ‘golden time’ for us to resolve misunderstandings and resume activities is before August 5”

Attrakt CEO Jeon Hong Joon expressed his hope for a smooth conflict resolution regarding the contract lawsuit filed by FIFTY FIFTY.

In a telephone interview with Munhwa Ilbo on July 13th, CEO Jeon said, “We need an opportunity to talk together. I want to tell them, ‘Were there any misunderstandings?’, ‘You guys have to judge the situation coldly and fairly’, etc., and point them out one by one. We need to resolve misunderstandings and reconcile quickly”.

CEO Jeon emphasized that August 5th is the ‘golden time’. It will mark exactly one month since the first hearing for FIFTY FIFTY’s application for an injunction to suspend their exclusive contracts, which took place on July 5th. In other words, the court is expected to make a judgment before that date.

CEO Jeon explained, “If a court decision is made, there is nothing I or the company can do to support them. Moreover, the public will criticize us”, adding “We need to have a conversation and get back before August 5th. I think it’s the ‘golden time.'”

Throughout the interview, CEO Jeon mentioned the word “gaslighting”. He claimed that FIFTY FIFTY members were manipulated by the wrong persuasion of The Givers CEO Ahn Sung Il, who was in charge of music production. “I think they’ve been completely gaslighted. There’s no other explanation for it”, CEO Jeon added, “The members and their parents have never responded to us. They were like, ‘We’re doing the right thing. People may not understand what we are thinking but they will one day’. They intend to keep such statements until the end.”

Making their debut in November last year, the four-member girl group FIFTY FIFTY entered US Billboard Main Single Chart ‘HOT 100’ within the shortest time among all K-pop groups with the song “Cupid” released in February and rose up to No.17. With such a remarkable achievement, the group was called “miracle of small and medium-sized agencies”. Many people even predicted that they could aim for the Rookie Award at the US Billboard and Grammy Awards. At the end of last month, US magazine Forbes praised the group, saying “FIFTY FIFTY can become the first K-pop girl group to make it to the history of Grammys”.

However, CEO Jeon sadly revealed that their plan is on the verge of failing. He said, “We were scheduled to go to the US and the UK starting this August. There were chances to get nominated for the Rookie Award at the US Billboard and Grammys, which would be the first time in K-pop history. Even if we don’t win, getting a nomination is already meaningful…”

At the same time, CEO Jeon also expressed concerns that the current controversy would become a “good or bad” narrative. As he previously stated, “The kids are suffering because of the mistakes made by adults”, the CEO worried that the current atmosphere may hinder FIFTY FIFTY’s normal activities even if the situation is resolved.

CEO Jeon said, “I’m worried about the extreme portrayal of ‘good and evil’…I’m an ordinary person, too, and I don’t want to be overly glorified as a nice person”, adding “I hope this incident would not spread an atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust among people.”

Meanwhile, The Givers, which was pointed out as the external force that tried to rob FIFTY FIFTY from Attrakt, made a press release on July 14th, saying “The most absurd and unjust part from The Givers’s perspective is that we are falsely blamed for Attrakt’s mistakes in making settlements”, adding “While it is true that we have delivered the artist’s accounting statements late, we have never omitted any details.”

They continued, “We acknowledged the delay in delivering the accounting statements to the artist at that time and asked for CEO Jeon Hong Joon’s understanding. However, when preparing the accounting statements, there was no record of the details regarding ‘FIFTY FIFTY’s album sales and music revenue’ that the distributor (Interpark) should have paid to Attrakt. The Givers accurately reflected the ‘0 won’ for music/album income in the accounting statements based on Attrakt’s data. The Givers is not responsible for the omission of income in FIFTY FIFTY’s ‘accounting statements.’ Attributing such allegations to The Givers is a malicious attempt to avoid taking responsibility and spread false information”.

Source: Daum