Following the court's decision to grant the injunction filed by nine members of THE BOYZ to suspend their exclusive contracts, their agency, ONE HUNDRED, has expressed "deep regret" and is pushing back strongly.
In an official statement released on the 24th, ONE HUNDRED stated, "While we respect the court's judgment, this decision is merely a temporary measure in the form of an injunction," adding, "Interpreting this as a 'final contract termination' is a clear legal distortion."
Previously, the Seoul Central District Court granted the injunction filed by nine members of THE BOYZ, except for NEW, to suspend the validity of their exclusive contracts. The members' side had stated regarding this, "We have received confirmation that the exclusive contracts have been legally terminated and are no longer in effect."
In response, ONE HUNDRED countered, "An injunction is only a temporary measure until a final ruling is made on the merits, not a final judgment," and added, "The other side announcing this as if they have achieved a final victory is an act that misleads the public and fans." They further noted, "Because the hearing schedule proceeded urgently, key evidentiary materials were not sufficiently reviewed," and announced plans to file an objection and a lawsuit on the merits.
They also re-emphasized their differing positions regarding settlement payments and contract fees. ONE HUNDRED claimed, "The fact that a total of 16.5 billion KRW in advance payments was provided to the 11 members remains unchanged," and asserted, "The unpaid settlement amount is approximately 1.6 billion KRW, so the claim that 'they did not receive settlements' is different from the truth." They added, "In the past, the members' side proposed contract termination on the condition of waiving settlement payments, which is effectively an admission of the nature of the advance payments."
Conflicting claims also continued regarding the concert preparation process. Contrary to the members' side stating that they "prepared for the performance with personal funds," ONE HUNDRED emphasized, "The concert in question was prepared through a professional company contracted by our agency," and added, "If the exclusive contracts were already terminated, the current execution of the performance itself could not be established."
Furthermore, ONE HUNDRED drew a line regarding recent rumors of a management crisis. They stated, "Some reports contain false and exaggerated content," and added, "An injunction against the publication of related articles has been granted, and we are preparing to file a claim for damages amounting to 100 billion KRW." They continued, "We are currently in the process of M&A negotiations with domestic and international investment firms and are mobilizing all means to normalize the company."
ONE HUNDRED also expressed concerns about the impact this issue might have on the K-Pop industry as a whole. They argued, "If a precedent is set where contracts are terminated based on temporary faults of the agency after receiving large sums of advance payments, the foundation of trust in the industry could be shaken."
Meanwhile, THE BOYZ will hold their solo concert 'INTER-ZECTION' at the KSPO Dome in Seoul from the 24th to the 26th. With knowmerce, which had also been in conflict with ONE HUNDRED over online streaming rights, winning their own injunction, some of the uncertainty surrounding the upcoming performance has been resolved.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)
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