FIFTY FIFTY members, who went from being “miracle of small and medium-sized idols” to “betrayal idols”, expressed their position 2 months after the controversy arose.
On August 17th, FIFTY FIFTY members Sio, Saena, Aran and Keena posted a handwritten letter through Instagram account.
The members said, “We also know that many of you are confused by the current media and press coverage. Misunderstandings and accusations have been snowballing. We were deeply shocked by this and have been going through a tough time.”
FIFTY FIFTY members filed an application for the suspension of the exclusive contract with the Seoul Central District Court on June 19th.
FIFTY FIFTY claimed that they could no longer continue exclusive contracts due to Attrakt’s violation of the obligation to provide settlement data transparently and faithfully, violation of the members’ physical and mental health care obligations and lack of support for entertainment activities.
In this regard, the members confessed, “Nevertheless, we believe there is a truth that needs to be uncovered despite these difficulties. And we have strong faith that our fans will understand us and support us even more when it is clarified.“
On the same day, FIFTY FIFTY filed a criminal complaint against Attrakt’s CEO Jeon Hong Joon on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes (Breach of Trust).
The members claimed that CEO Jeon unfairly used revenues from FIFTY FIFTY’s music and album sales to repay the advance payment debt of StarCrew ENT, the agency he actually owns.
The following is the full text of FIFTY FIFTY members’ position.
Dear fans,
This is Keena, Saena, Sio and Aran from FIFTY FIFTY.
We would first like to begin by apologizing to everyone who loves us for causing much concern.
We know that there are fans who believe in us and are waiting for us. And that is why the members of FIFTY FIFTY decided to put our hesitation aside and stepped up to share our position.
We also know that many of you are confused by the current media and press coverage. Misunderstandings and accusations have been snowballing. We were deeply shocked by this and have been going through a tough time.
Nevertheless, we believe there is a truth that needs to be uncovered despite these difficulties. And we have strong faith that our fans will understand us and support us even more when it is clarified.
The members of FIFTY FIFTY have received overflowing love and encouragement from our fans. We also have many people around us who have worked hard and helped us. We have never forgotten, not even for a single moment, how thankful we are to our fans and everyone who supported us. We would like to take it to our hearts and return our gratitude by working even harder in the future.
However, we first wanted to take this opportunity to right the wrongs that have been forced in our relationship with the agency. And to protect our music, we had no other choice.
So, after a lot of consideration, our members have decided to face this path. We will continue to move forward by making careful decisions to overcome the current confusions and difficulties.
It has been heartbreaking to see so many untrue stories being reported in the media articles and social media these days. Nevertheless, we have been careful about commenting on ending our exclusive contracts with our agency. This does not mean we admit or accept what has been reported in the media. We believed that taking this issue to court based on facts was the right way to solve the situation. We had hoped that the truth would be uncovered during the trial process and our right would be guaranteed. This is something we hope for even to this day. To realize that hope, we will continue to collect and submit materials and evidence based on facts. In doing so, we hope to clarify any doubts and misunderstandings. We sincerely hope that you do not make too much criticism based on false suspicions and misunderstandings and look at the facts objectively.
Right now, every one of our members is in this together, relying on each other to stand strong.
What we really want, however, is to carry out our activities as true artists in a trustworthy environment. Our members will do everything in our power to make this wish come true. We will do our best to come back in good shape and return our thankfulness to all of you who have been following us.
Thank you.
Source: Insight
