When the company that rapper DinDin had promoted suddenly went bankrupt, DinDin's side issued an apology on his behalf.
On the 25th, DinDin's agency Superbell Company said on its official social media, "We offer our sincere apologies to the victims who suffered losses due to the recent termination of service operations by an external company that ran a campaign with our artist DinDin. We were not informed by the external company that ran the campaign about the termination of service operations, and we only later learned through the company's official website that bankruptcy proceedings were underway," the agency said.
Earlier, 'Part-Time Study,' which DinDin had participated in as a promotional model, suddenly announced planned bankruptcy, sparking controversy. 'Part-Time Study' is a reward-style study app in which users pay a deposit in advance and, upon reaching a preset study goal time, receive a percentage of that amount as compensation.
However, the previous morning 'Part-Time Study' abruptly announced its bankruptcy, unilaterally blocked users from withdrawing their deposited funds, and was accused of running off with the money. Amid this, the fallout reached promotional figures including exam YouTuber Mimiminuu and DinDin.
The agency explained, "The campaign ran from Nov. 10 to 16, and DinDin is not related to the company's shutdown. We regret that this controversy has arisen after the campaign with DinDin had already ended, and we hope swift procedures will be taken for the victims. Going forward, we will operate responsibly to regain trust."
Later, DinDin posted a lengthy statement on his personal social media. He said, "I first learned of this incident yesterday evening at 7 p.m. during a YouTube live, and I began fact-checking immediately after the broadcast ended. In that process I found that contact with 'Part-Time Study' had been severed, and that most of the victims were students or job seekers," and added, "I judged the campaign to be a project with positive intent, and on checking found that similar services were already widely operating in the market, and we had been discussing other content with the company, so it was hard to expect this problem would occur," conveying that he too had not been aware of such issues in advance.
However, he said, "I was informed that it would be practically difficult to provide compensation only to those who joined through me during the campaign period from Nov. 10 to 16," adding, "What I can do now is help make the victims' situations more widely known and act in ways that might provide some assistance. I heard there is a group chat for 'Part-Time Study' victims. If you suffered damage and don't know how to respond, please join the group chat and be sure to register your claim within the app. We are continuing to attempt contact with 'Part-Time Study' and will work to find a resolution as quickly as possible."
He bowed his head and said, "If any of the people who trusted and participated because of me suffered losses, I am truly sorry. I sincerely apologize and will work toward resolving the victims' situations. I also deeply apologize for the delayed announcement of our position because confirmation was late due to my schedule."
Octopus Club, which produces DinDin's YouTube content 'DinDin is DinDin,' also said, "We at Octopus Club recognize the seriousness of the situation and are sharing DinDin's statement and an outline of the incident to help the victims receive swift relief and compensation. We hope the victims receive prompt relief, and as a community we will do our best to play any role we can."
Meanwhile, Mimiminuu uploaded a YouTube video about the 'Part-Time Study' incident and apologized, saying, "I will formally deliver the full advertising fee I received and additional amounts to the victims so that those who are still sleepless and suffering can have some support in what will be a difficult fight ahead. To explain the situation to viewers, I repeatedly tried to contact the CEO and staff, but could not reach them, and I felt it was right for me to take responsibility as quickly as possible for viewers who trusted my channel and used the service."
[Photo] OSEN DB, Superbell Company
[OSEN]