It has been revealed that the band Jannabi has been working with Yoo Young-hyun, who left the team due to school violence allegations, until recently. Upon learning this, fans protested to the agency, which stated, "We never intended to hide or cover this up from the beginning," but announced that they would no longer work with Yoo Young-hyun in the future.
Choi Jung-jun, the CEO of Pepo Music, posted a notice on the Jannabi fan cafe on the 13th, stating, "Pepo Music has decided not to proceed with Yoo Young-hyun's sound assistant role any further," and added, "The process of communicating this to the fans was not appropriate. We have disappointed many fans due to poor judgment and inadequate response."
The reason for Choi's statement was that it was recently revealed that Yoo Young-hyun, who left the team due to school violence allegations in May 2019, was working as a sound engineer. In particular, the agency escalated the controversy by forcibly expelling some fans who raised issues from the fan cafe.
As fans' backlash intensified, Choi issued a statement on the 12th regarding the situation, acknowledging, "Former member Yoo Young-hyun is currently collaborating as a sound engineer at concert venues and band rehearsal sites."
However, he stated that there was no intention to cover this up. Choi explained, "We never intended to hide or cover this up from the beginning. However, there were ongoing matters related to Young-hyun's previous issues, so we wanted to provide details after those matters were resolved."
He also denied claims that "Yoo Young-hyun is involved in Jannabi's music work" or "secretly participated in the production of existing albums," stating, "We plan to take legal action against indiscriminate falsehoods."
However, Jannabi fans were even more enraged by Choi's statement, and the next day, he issued another statement saying they would no longer work with Yoo Young-hyun.
Choi Jung-hoon also spoke out regarding the incident. He mentioned the date when the school violence allegations against Yoo Young-hyun were first raised, May 24, 2019, and said, "If I could have told you everything as it is, this situation and discord would not have occurred," while also expressing, "I want to apologize for trying to include that friend in the staff through an improper process."
Meanwhile, Jannabi is a band formed in 2011 by friends Choi Jung-hoon, Kim Do-hyung, and Yoo Young-hyun, who were the same age in school. They officially began activities as a five-member group in early 2015 after recruiting Jang Kyung-jun and Yoon Gyeol, and rose to stardom with the title track "For Hesitant Lovers" from their second studio album released in March 2019.
However, Yoo Young-hyun and Yoon Gyeol left the team in 2019 and 2021, respectively, due to social controversies, and after Jang Kyung-jun announced a halt to team activities due to marriage, the group became a duo. Choi Jung-hoon also drew attention by confirming his relationship with actress Han Ji-min, who is ten years older, on August 10.
[Lee Da-kyum, Star Today Reporter]
