A member of K-pop girl group Loona expressed her sympathy towards fellow member Chuu, who was ousted by their agency and accused of abuse of power against a staff member.
Chuu was one of the most popular members of Loona, endorsing products and appearing on TV shows.
However, Loona’s agency, Blockberry Creative, announced on Nov. 25 that Chuu was no longer a member of the group and claimed that this was because of her alleged verbal abuse toward a staff member and misuse of power (“gapjil” in Korean).
"The agency has decided to expel Chuu from Loona as of Nov. 25, 2022," it said, Korea JoongAng Daily reported.
It added, "There has been a lot of talk regarding Chuu this year. The agency and other members of Loona have not announced anything for the sake of the group and to avoid worrying fans.”
"However, recently, there have been reports that Chuu has been verbally abusive and misusing her power against the staff. It turned out to be true, and the agency's head is now consoling the staff members. The agency has decided to take responsibility and remove Chuu from the group. We apologize to the staff who have been greatly hurt by this incident,” it said.
In December last year, Chuu filed a request with a court for a temporary injunction to suspend her exclusive contract with the agency. The court partially granted her request last March.
After the agency made the announcement, Loona member HyunJin posted a private message to fans on a fan community app.
"My head hurts; I'm so heartbroken and angry. But the most heartbroken one right now is Chuu. Please give her a lot of support and love," HyunJin said, Korea JoongAng Daily reported.
Blockberry Creative released another announcement on Nov. 28 after netizens and people close to Chuu defended her against the company’s accusations.
“It was a statement, and it was not written for the purpose of exposing Chuu's abuse of power to the public and media,” it claimed after maligning Chuu.
It added, “The fan notice posted on November 25th at around 5:00 p.m. is a notice from the company to fans and those who support Loona about Chuu's current change. It was a notice explaining the reason for the expulsion, not an expose.”
“It is natural to explain the reason for the expulsion, but it is the right of Chuu and the staff who suffered damage to provide facts and evidence,” the agency said.
“If Chuu and the victim agree in relation to abusive language and abuse of power, the company will cooperate in providing the contents and evidence,” it claimed.
Korean netizens slammed Blockberry Creative for maligning Chuu.
"We all know the truth.. that Jiwoo never even had staff assigned to her by the agency to begin with. How could she abuse staff she never had... and if I were her, I would've abused this company years ago," one netizen wrote.
Another commented, "It obviously sounds like a story made up by the company to get out of contract loopholes," according to Netizen Buzz.
Other comments are:
- "Well, the current situation is that no one believes the company"
- "Chuu doesn't seem like the type at all. If anyone's abusive, it's her agency for not paying her for her work."
- "They couldn't make up a more believable story... ㅋㅋㅋㅋ even a dog would laugh at Chuu being abusive."