'SwooPA3' appearance by OSAKA Ojo Gang leader Ibuki and six members ended in conflict over unpaid settlement money and manager misconduct, and ultimately they were unable to resolve it and concluded team activities.
On the 15th, Ojo Gang member Kyoka posted a long message on her personal account saying, "I sincerely thank you for the special support and encouragement you have always given. Today I want to share important news regarding future activities. Many speculations have circulated, but based on the situation in which several problems were confirmed, all seven members discussed and agreed on the future direction, including adjustments to the team structure."
That day Kyoka said, "Although various speculations circulated on social media, the six members earnestly fulfilled the scheduled performances to keep their promise to fans. Now Ojo Gang's concert activities will conclude with the Suwon performance on Nov. 22," and "Ojo Gang was formed for 'World of Street Woman Fighter.' The six members will end all activities as Ojo Gang with the Suwon performance as their last and will graduate from the team on the same day."
Kyoka expressed gratitude, saying, "Once again, I sincerely thank you for the great support and encouragement you have given. The many encounters and experiences gained through 'World of Street Woman Fighter,' and above all the existence of the fans, were precious and irreplaceable to the members."
Finally Kyoka bowed her head and said, "Although activities as Ojo Gang will end, each member will move on to their own new stages without forgetting the gratitude they feel toward fans based on their experiences. We deeply apologize for causing anxiety to fans and related parties because of this series of issues."
Earlier in September, six Ojo Gang members — Ru, Hana, Kyoka, Junna, Minami and Uwa — announced on their official social media that they were in conflict with leader Ibuki and the manager, saying, "We proceeded with tour preparations to keep our promise to fans to 'stand on stage.' However, the manager could not provide any explanations regarding the tour contract or schedule. Later, through contact with the concert production company, we learned for the first time that negotiations between the manager and the tour side were not proceeding properly."
At the Seoul performance of Mnet's 'World of Street Woman Fighter' (hereafter 'SwooPA3') national tour 'THE REAL STAGE' held that month, the winning team Ojo Gang's leader Ibuki was absent, and members apologized to fans in tears. The concert production company said Ibuki would also be absent from the Busan performance held that month.
That night Ibuki posted a statement on her account saying, "During the concert organizer's proposal process, I was asked to sign a contract in a situation where I, as an artist, did not even have the right to speak, and actions were taken that could cause discord with the members, so I was discussing future concerts through a Korean lawyer. However, now the concert side unilaterally disclosed information without formal consultation that 'I will not participate in the Busan concert,'" accusing the production company of abusing power.
In response, the production company released an official statement denying the claim, saying, "Communication with Ojo Gang's manager was not smooth during the contract negotiation process, and there were multiple disruptions to schedule and contract progress," and "also, during negotiations, Ojo Gang's manager demanded separate nontransparent conditions that were not shared with the members, and strongly requested that the concert production team and members' contract not specify appearance fees."
In the end Ibuki expressed willingness to participate in the performance on the condition that the manager-related controversy be handled privately and she apologize to the members, but just before the concert she suddenly notified via a lawyer that she would not honor the previous agreement and would not attend for health reasons.
The production company said, "We continued to try to have Ibuki participate, but could not get an answer and before it was too late we announced her absence from the Busan concert around 5 p.m. on Sept. 8," adding, "Ibuki's condition for participating in the concert was to invalidate the previous agreement and re-sign a contract with the manager. This condition is unacceptable to the other six members."
After the controversy surfaced, speculation spread online that Ibuki was in a romantic relationship with the manager and that the two tried to siphon off the members' concert appearance fees by demanding a side agreement, and when the production company refused, they were left in the current situation. Amid this, the six Ojo Gang members posted their own statement directly to explain the situation.
The six members said, "Ojo Gang is a seven-member team formed for WSWF (SwooPA3) centered on leader Ibuki. Although we were individually active, Ibuki's personal manager, who has worked with her for a long time, became Ojo Gang's manager during the process of selecting a team manager," and "during the broadcast appearance we all worked together aiming for 'victory.' However, numerous problems occurred behind the scenes, such as appearance fees not being paid by the manager or amounts being handled opaquely. Even after the payment deadline passed, salaries were not paid, and no proper amounts were presented while members' inquiries went unanswered."
They continued, "During and after the show's filming there were many job offers for Ojo Gang and individual members, but most were concentrated with the manager, and we were not informed in advance about what work had come in. Various Ojo Gang jobs and members' individual jobs were even canceled under the manager's control."
Ojo Gang said, "When the six of us learned this, we had long online discussions with Ibuki and the manager. In that meeting Ibuki apologized to the six and said, 'I will dismiss the manager.' We believed those words, rebuilt trust and all Ojo Gang members decided to participate in the concert. But that promise was not kept."
[Photo] SNS
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