From their miraculous rise on the Billboard Hot 100 chart to being embroiled in tampering allegations, girl group FIFTY FIFTY's journey has been nothing short of dramatic. It's hard to find another K-pop act with such a tumultuous history.
The 'FIFTY FIFTY Scandal' has concluded its first round, with Attrakt coming out on top. On the 28th, the Seoul Central District Court rejected FIFTY FIFTY's request to suspend their exclusive contract with Attrakt, stating that it's challenging to definitively say there was a breach in providing settlement data or neglect in health management.
In response, FIFTY FIFTY's attorney, Lee Dong-hoon, told Star News that they would discuss the possibility of an appeal with the members. Jun Hong-jun, the CEO of Attrakt, briefly mentioned plans to focus on the criminal charges against the heads of The Givers in his statement to Star News.
With their hit 'Cupid', FIFTY FIFTY achieved a record-breaking entry into the Billboard Hot 100 chart just 130 days after their debut. However, behind this success was a shocking internal conflict. The group filed a lawsuit against Attrakt in June, which caused significant shockwaves in the industry. Before this, Attrakt had announced a hiatus for the group due to a member's health issues and alleged external forces trying to breach their contract.
Despite Attrakt's continuous efforts to reconcile with the members, they remained silent for two months, stating they would never return to their singing careers. This stance remains unchanged.
On the 17th, 60 days after declaring their separation from Attrakt, the members expressed their feelings in a handwritten letter. They apologized for causing concern and expressed their hope for rectifying the wrongs they experienced under their agency.
However, the public and the judiciary seem to be far from sympathizing with the members' perspective.
Jun Hong-jun's Plea: "I Want to Start Over with the Members"
Having tirelessly led FIFTY FIFTY's launch and their rise as global artists over a long period, Attrakt's CEO Jun Hong-jun repeatedly showed his regret about the current situation, reaching out to the members. He expressed understanding towards the members and their parents, some of whom are minors, saying, "Two of the members are underage, and their parents might not be familiar with this industry. How could they possibly know everything about such situations? I understand all of this and wish to reconcile and start over."
Jun Hong-jun pointed to An Seong-il, the CEO of The Givers, as the central figure in this situation, saying, "I can only see that An Seong-il and Director Baekmo gaslighted the members to bring about this situation. On June 19th, a content certification was sent to the company. When we had an emergency meeting about it, he pretended not to know anything, but from June 20th onwards, I couldn't contact the members at all. However, it seemed like An Seong-il was continuously in touch with them. I couldn't help but be suspicious."
Jun Hong-jun shouted at them, "Don't cowardly hide," and calmly told Star News on the 28th, after the decision to reject the injunction application, that he would "focus on their criminal charges after consulting with the lawyer."
An Seong-il: A Series of Suspicions
With the tampering allegations against FIFTY FIFTY, An Seong-il faced doubts even about the past actions of his current artist, Son Seung-yeon. There were also suspicions about his dubious career fabrications. On July 25th, when controversies about his career fabrications arose, An Seong-il stated, "I've confirmed errors related to my academic background. I apologize for the confusion and will make corrections."
An Seong-il was criticized for deliberately lying about his career by fabricating a significant portion of his academic and professional history. He listed on his official profile that he graduated from 'Chung-Ang University's Business Administration', but there was no individual named An Seong-il on the list of graduates from that department. It turned out that it was An Seong-il's brother who attended the university.
Furthermore, his career stated that he worked as the Senior Executive Vice President of ZAP Entertainment until March 2004, then as the Senior Director of Vitamin Entertainment from January 2006, and as the Executive Creative Director of Warner Music Korea from January 2007 to January 2011. He also claimed to be the Creative Production Director of Blossom Entertainment, the General Production Director of Toonipost, and the CEO of The Givers.
However, Beyond Music refuted his claim of being their representative for rights for over three years, stating he worked as an outsourced service for only 16 months without any significant achievements. His tenure at Vitamin Entertainment was also limited to producing Rumble Fish's 'Smile Again'. While Vitamin Entertainment was absorbed by Warner Music Korea in 2007 through a merger, there were testimonies that An Seong-il never worked as a production director at Warner Music Korea for four years. Subsequently, An Seong-il removed all his career details from portal sites, leaving only The Givers.
Along with the suspicions raised against An Seong-il, Son Seung-yeon, who was also the target of public outrage, clarified through an official statement that he had "nothing to do with CEO An Seong-il." However, Fortun still couldn't accept this, and the explanation itself was pointed out to have incorrect facts, failing to dispel doubts.
Copyright issues were also a significant controversy. The process leading up to the completion of 'Cupid', including tricks, signature forgery, and changes in copyright shares, became a central issue. The Givers' stance on this controversy was that these were "serious false facts." In simple terms, The Givers' position on this suspicion was, "What's the problem when we have all the rights to the finished song 'Cupid'?" They also pointed out that the premise of the suspicion itself was wrong, saying, "'Cupid' was not originally intended for FIFTY FIFTY."
According to The Givers' claims, there's no problem with them buying the original song 'Cupid' and registering the copyright for the finished song. The Swedish composers had no reason to be credited since all rights were transferred. Legally, there's no issue. However, there are still lingering questions about whether The givers, which is suspected of triggering conflicts between FIFTY FIFTY members and Attrakt (over copyright issues), can be free from moral responsibility.
The Self-inflicted Wound of 'I Want to Know That'
Adding fuel to the already noisy situation was the controversy over the biased reporting of SBS's 'I Want to Know That'. The episode titled 'I Want to Know That - Billboard and Girl Group', which aired on the 19th, was criticized for its biased portrayal, including mocking remarks towards the members, numerous suspicions about The Givers CEO An Seong-il, rumors about FIFTY FIFTY's second generation, and the tampering issue. Viewers, expecting fair and refreshing reporting from a leading current affairs program in South Korea, responded with complaints to the Broadcasting Review Committee, petitions for the program's cancellation, and criticism towards MC Kim Sang-jung.
The flow of the report seemed to have been directed with the conclusion that FIFTY FIFTY was the primary victim of this situation, which amplified the controversy. The superficial coverage of the industry's perspective and the lack of mention of key terms related to the issue, even if the broadcast time was limited, were also criticized.
Statements such as a member's family being stressed due to dieting and throwing away food sent by the family, or CEO Jun Hong-jun never participating in monthly evaluations, were immediately followed by refutations and fact-checks. This alone showed how biased the episode's reporting was. Additionally, incorrect facts, such as BTS's Grammy acceptance speech and the incorrect global revenue calculation for 'Cupid', were included.
In a situation where both sides are tense, supporting or downplaying one side (with insufficient evidence) can further anger the public, who are already watching the situation critically. 'I Want to Know That' lost its credibility by portraying FIFTY FIFTY as a victim caught in the crossfire between Attrakt CEO Jun Hong-jun and The Givers producer An Seong-il.
Eventually, the production team of 'I Want to Know That' stated in their official position regarding the biased reporting controversy released five days after the broadcast: "The episode 'I Want to Know That - Billboard and Girl Group' aired on August 19th was produced to contemplate what is needed for sustainable K-pop through the so-called 'FIFTY FIFTY situation'. Contrary to the production team's intentions, we deeply apologize for hurting the feelings of many working in the K-pop scene and the fans who love K-pop. We take seriously the feedback and criticism from organizations like the Korea Management Association and the Korea Entertainment Producers Association." They clarified, "This program was not intended to favor any side involved in the current dispute. For some of the ongoing controversial issues, we will make up for the deficiencies through additional investigations and follow-up broadcasts. Thank you for your interest in 'I Want to Know That'. We will repay the viewers' support with more in-depth investigations," concluding their statement.
