Singer and broadcaster Lee Sang-min directly addressed the recently surfaced 'Rula accounting' controversy. Shin Jeong-hwan even corrected the situation in the comments, and the fallout appears to be quickly calming down.
On the 4th, Lee Sang-min wrote on his Instagram, "I was also a singer under an agency. Who would I be settling accounts for? All members were paid equally," and strongly rebutted, "I am not the boss of Rula. I was paid equally and worked twice as hard. I was a Rula member full of passion." He added the hashtag, "Not reporters. Fact check!!!" drawing a line against the spread of misunderstanding.
The person at the center of the controversy, Shin Jeong-hwan, also offered a direct explanation in the comments. He said, "This is Shin Jeong-hwan. At 24:10 of 'B-grade hearing' I was talking about the company's accounting at that time, but it was edited so it sounded like Sang-min hyung said that," and added, "I'm sorry to the fans. Hyung, sorry~ I asked for a quick correction to be made."
Earlier, on the 2nd, Shin Jeong-hwan appeared on 'B-grade hearing' and shared the behind-the-scenes of forming 'Country Kkoko.' In response to the question, "I heard the reason Country Kkoko was formed was to pay Tak Jae-Hoon's senior's 150,000 won card debt," he answered, "Where did you hear that? It's accurate."
He continued, "After getting out of the military with my head shaved short, before my hair even grew back, Rula disbanded. There was nothing to do. I took an entrance exam and went to school. I learned photography. Tak Jae-Hoon hyung is a neighborhood friend of 30 years, and Jae-Hoon hyung also wasn't doing well with playing guitar, so Lee Sang-min said, 'Jeong-hwan, the two of you should try making a rookie duo,'" he explained.
He said, "Honestly, I was someone who had been in Rula, and if things were being measured I should have been included, but I was the one who first said, 'If it's with Jae-Hoon hyung, I'll do it.' But suddenly Jae-Hoon hyung said, 'Ah.. with Jeong-hwan?', 'I need some money right now, can you help me, Jeong-hwan?'" revealing the situation at the time.
In particular, Shin Jeong-hwan drew attention by raising accounting issues, saying, "Although Rula seemed to do well, I never properly received payments. I received 12,000,000 won over five years," He explained in response to the question, "Wasn't Lee Sang-min the producer at the time?" saying, "(Lee Sang-min) was the producer. Sang-min hyung slightly promoted us with the first album and sold us to that company. He sold us for an extra fee. That hyung focused on Chakra," and added, "From the contract money they gave, they gave Jae-Hoon hyung 150,000 won, and so 'Country Kkoko' eventually started."
Following the two men's successive explanations, fans have reacted, "It was an editing misunderstanding," "Glad the parties corrected it right away." In particular, they noted that Lee Sang-min clearly pointed out the part where he was misunderstood as the "Rula boss" and corrected the facts.
[Photo] OSEN DB, provided by the agency
[OSEN]