Joo Hak-nyeon of the group The Boyz, who has been embroiled in a personal controversy, revealed that he was pressured to leave the agency, while One Hundred refuted this.
One Hundred stated in an official statement on the 20th, "We express our deep regret over Joo Hak-nyeon's unilateral false claims," opening their remarks.
They continued, "Recognizing that this matter could cause significant damage to team activities, we made the decision to suspend his activities. After assessing the situation in detail, we informed Joo Hak-nyeon that this matter constitutes grounds for contract termination under Article 6, Section 3 of the exclusive contract, which states 'acts that damage the dignity of a public cultural artist to the extent that it interferes with entertainment activities.'"
One Hundred emphasized that they terminated the exclusive contract with Joo Hak-nyeon in accordance with the provisions of the contract, asserting that this was a just and reasonable action.
They criticized Joo Hak-nyeon's claims as an evasion of responsibility and repeated distorted content. They also mentioned the company's damages and stated that they would take legal action.
According to One Hundred, activities of The Boyz, excluding Joo Hak-nyeon, will proceed as scheduled. They added that they will do their best to protect the honor and rights of the remaining members.
On the same day, Joo Hak-nyeon stated through his SNS that he did not engage in illegal activities, saying, "If there is evidence that I engaged in prostitution, please disclose it immediately. I have not left the team, nor have I agreed to the termination of the exclusive contract," escalating the controversy.
He confessed that the agency fabricated reasons for the termination of the exclusive contract despite having none, stating, "They demanded that I leave the company while seeking compensation of over 2 billion won, but I did not accept this. Nevertheless, the agency informed the media that the contract termination was confirmed. This is a clear falsehood."
Joo Hak-nyeon also raised his voice, asking, "Is it the attitude of an agency that should protect artists to unilaterally expel someone from the team just because they were in a private setting with a famous person and talk about damages?"
Earlier, on the 18th, a media outlet reported that Joo Hak-nyeon had met former AV actress Asuka Kirara at a private bar in Tokyo at the end of May, causing a stir.
In response, the agency One Hundred stated, "We take the seriousness of this matter very seriously and clearly recognize that it is difficult to maintain trust as an artist," and "After sufficient discussions with the members of The Boyz, we finalized Joo Hak-nyeon's departure from the team and the termination of his exclusive contract." Joo Hak-nyeon acknowledged the meeting with Asuka but denied the allegations of prostitution.
Joo Hak-nyeon debuted as a member of The Boyz in December 2017. He is a contestant from the Mnet audition program 'Produce 101' Season 2, where he maintained a rank within the top 11 of the debut group but ultimately ranked 19th and did not become a member of the project group Wanna One.
[Ji Seung-hoon, Star Today Reporter]
