6 Members of
#FANTASYBOYS file exclusive contract lawsuit… Successive departures at PocketDol
"Six members of the boy group FANTASY BOYS have set out to sever ties with their agency, PocketDol Studio.
According to coverage by The Fact on the 19th, FANTASY BOYS members Kang Minseo, Lee Hanbin, Hikaru, Hong Sungmin, Kim Gyurae, and Kaedan recently filed a lawsuit against PocketDol Studio for the non-existence of their exclusive contracts, as well as an application for a provisional injunction to suspend the validity of said contracts. The reasons for filing the lawsuit include settlement issues such as failure to provide data and non-payment, problems with the company's finances and operations, and the breakdown of trust due to non-fulfillment of contractual obligations.
According to insiders, the six members claim in their complaint that the agency 'violated the duty to provide settlement statements', that 'the settlement statements included items that were not actually executed and some costs were not paid', and that 'although the contract stipulated that hundreds of millions of won in labor costs be deducted every quarter, most of that personnel did not actually exist or their activity details could not be verified'.
Furthermore, they stated that procedures to extend the visa status of foreign members were not carried out in a timely manner, resulting in restrictions on their activities. This passage implies that there are problems with the company's operations and management.
In fact, prior to this, Kang Minseo recently told fans on a fan communication platform, 'The electricity was out in the dorm. Sorry for only charging my phone and contacting you now', and 'It wasn't a blackout, but I think the electricity bill wasn't paid; it's a bit stressful.'
The side representing the six members sent an official letter requesting corrections to PocketDol Studio on September 30th, but when no action was taken, they sent an official letter notifying contract termination on October 28th. Subsequently, this month, they filed the lawsuit to confirm the non-existence of the exclusive contract and the application for a provisional injunction to suspend its validity.
FANTASY BOYS is a group born through the MBC boy group audition program Fantasy Boys - My Teenage Boy Season 2, broadcast in 2023, and they debuted in September 2023. At the time, Yu Junwon, who took 1st place in the program and was scheduled to debut with FANTASY BOYS, came into conflict with PocketDol Studio and left the team.
Because of this, FANTASY BOYS debuted and promoted as an 11-member group instead of the planned 12. With the majority of the multinational members—including Korean (Kang Minseo, Lee Hanbin, Hong Sungmin, Kim Gyurae), Japanese (Hikaru), and American (Kaedan)—filing this lawsuit and injunction application, FANTASY BOYS is now in a situation where maintaining the team itself has become burdensome.
This is not the first time singers belonging to PocketDol Studio have filed exclusive contract lawsuits. Previously, Nam Dohyon, a member of their boy group BAE173, filed for an injunction to suspend the validity of his exclusive contract in 2023, won the case, and left. Recently, another member, Doha, also filed a lawsuit to confirm the non-existence of his exclusive contract and applied for a provisional injunction to suspend its validity."
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m.tf.co.kr/read/entertain/22…