A Japanese trainee has suddenly vanished right before their idol group debut, prompting a police investigation.
According to a report by Yonhap News on the 3rd, the Seoul Yeongdeungpo Police Station booked trainee A, a Japanese national, on fraud charges after receiving a complaint from their agency. A travel ban has also been issued, which effectively prevents the individual from leaving the country.
According to the police and the agency, A was set to debut in a six-member boy group. However, in December last year, just two months before the debut, A disappeared, leaving a message stating that the “trust relationship had collapsed.” At the time, the group had already completed their music video shoot, song recordings, and member reveals.
With A’s whereabouts unknown, the group reportedly debuted and continued their activities as a five-member team.
The agency’s decision to take legal action came after it was discovered that A was already signed with another agency at the time of the exclusive contract, sparking suspicions of a “double contract.”
The agency claimed, “It has been confirmed that A disappeared and cut off contact in the same manner with a previous company.” They further alleged that A seems to have repeatedly signed contracts with Korean agencies to receive investment and then fled overseas when it was time to promote.
The damages from this incident are estimated at approximately 57.43 million KRW. This amount reportedly includes training costs, song production, choreography, recording, music video filming, accommodation rent, and food expenses.
Police believe A is currently staying in Korea and are tracking their location.
Meanwhile, the entertainment industry is seeing a rise in contract disputes and management issues as the proportion of foreign trainees increases alongside the global expansion of K-pop. Some point out that small and medium-sized agencies, in particular, may suffer repeated losses due to the high cost of legal action.
