Ex-LOONA member Chuu responds to BlockBerry motion to bar her from Korean entertainment activities
[Source]
Blockberry Creative, the agency behind K-pop girl group LOONA, has filed a petition to the Korean Entertainment Management Association (KEMA) and the Korea Entertainment Producers Association to suspend former member Chuu from participating in entertainment activities in South Korea.
The news came earlier this week and was confirmed by BlockBerry to numerous news outlets.
BlockBerry’s petition was reportedly filed in December 2022, only a month after Chuu was expelled from LOONA for what the agency claims was “violent language and misuse of power toward our staff.” The allegation has been met with swift and sweeping skepticism from fans and industry professionals.
Blockberry’s recent petition claimed that Chuu had "tampered" with and violated her management contract when she allegedly tried to sign with rival agency BY4M Studio.
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In response, KEMA requested Chuu attend its Reward and Punishment Committee; Chuu's legal counsel said that they will attend to "confirm the facts."
Chuu responded to Blockberry’s latest move with her own statement via Instagram Stories on Thursday.
It’s really tiring and sad that I must keep revealing my position. Recently, it seems that slanderous articles based on false reports have gone too far. In December 2021, I didn’t even know the company BY4M. It’s hard for me to put up with the fact that even the members are tied up with the lies, so I’ll organize my position and respond soon.
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On top of their petition to ban Chuu from local entertainment activities, Blockberry also announced plans to file a similar petition against members Heejin, Kim Lip, Jinsoul and Choerry.
The four LOONA members successfully secured injunctions and terminated their exclusive contracts with Blockberry last month.
They have yet to issue official responses to their former agency's petition.
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JTBC News reported on Friday that members Hyunjin and Vivi have also filed injunctions against Blockberry to terminate their exclusive contracts.
This means that all 11 LOONA members have filed injunctions against the agency.
JTBC News suggested that Hyunjin and Vivi have a high chance of securing their injunctions as their contract terms are comparable to those of Heejin, Kim Lip, Jinsoul and Choerry.
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Other members of LOONA, including Haseul, Olivia Hye, Yeojin, Yves and Gowon, had their requests rejected last month due to recent amendments to their contracts.
Meanwhile, SBS news reported on Thursday that Universal Music Japan is in talks to "directly exercise exclusive rights to the LOONA members."
The company is reportedly crafting plans for LOONA's Japanese promotions as a complete group and may have them relocate their primary base of activities to Japan for at least three years.
LOONA's members are required to fulfill an exclusive contract signed in September 2019 with Universal Music Japan, even if their contractual relationships with BlockBerry expire.
Blockberry, Universal Music Japan and the present and past members of LOONA have yet to comment on the report.
LOONA was previously set to release a new album, "The Origin Album: 0," but its release has been postponed indefinitely due to "various concerns about the members' situation."
