In an idol group that had finished shooting a music video and releasing tracks, one foreign member cut off contact just before debut. The agency filed a police complaint, saying the trainee had already signed with another label when entering an exclusive contract again.
According to police and others on the 3rd, Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul is investigating a Japanese national trainee, identified as A, on suspicion of fraud. Police recently issued an overseas travel ban on A. The ban prevents a foreign national under investigation from leaving the country.
A had been preparing to debut as a member of a Namsung idol group. According to the agency, about two months before debut, in Dec. last year, A left only a note to the effect that "the relationship of trust has collapsed" and cut off contact.
At the time, the group was well along in preparing for debut. The music video shoot was done, and the track and members' faces had already been revealed. When A's whereabouts could not be confirmed, the agency reorganized the group into a five-member act and debuted them.
The issue escalated as suspicions surfaced that when A signed with the agency, A was already under an exclusive contract with another label. The agency claims A concealed the existing contract and signed a new one, then disappeared as debut neared.
The agency also claimed there were indications that A similarly cut off contact at the prior label. The gist is that after signing with a domestic label and receiving training and production support, A repeatedly left when it was time to begin actual activities.
The damages calculated by the agency amount to 57.43 million won. This includes training expenses spent on A, song and choreography production costs, recording fees, music video shooting costs, food expenses, and accommodation rent.
Police believe A may still be in Korea and are working to determine the whereabouts.
The case is also tied to the issue of managing foreign trainees. According to the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), as of the end of 2024, 42 out of 963 trainees at domestic labels were foreign nationals. As the share of foreign trainees grows in the K-pop market, labels are increasingly burdened with residency status, contract management, cultural adaptation, and responses to legal disputes.