All 12 members of K-pop group LOONA have left their agency BlockBerry Creative.
Haseul, Yeojin, Yves, Go Won, and Olivia Hye won their respective injunctions to suspend their exclusive contracts with BlockBerry, South Korean media reported on Friday, June 16.
According to Seoul Economic Daily, the Seoul High Court’s Fifth Civil Cases Division ruled in favor of the five members, citing “a problem with BlockBerry’s transferring of exclusive contracts to Japanese agency Universal Japan without the written consent of the members.”
BlockBerry has not released a statement as of this writing.
The members have been in a legal battle against BlockBerry for more than a year, filing a string of lawsuits to suspend their exclusive contracts with the agency.
Chuu filed her injunction in December 2021 on the grounds of nonpayment for her activities. BlockBerry expelled her from the group almost a year after, on November 25, 2022, alleging verbal abuse against staff, which Chuu denied.
A few days after, on November 28, JTBC reported that Heejin, Haseul, Yeojin, Kim Lip, Jinsoul, Choerry, Yves, Go Won, and Olivia Hye filed their injunctions, citing breach of mutual trust.
Heejin, Kim Lip, Jinsoul, and Choerry won their injunctions in January 2023.
Hyunjin and Vivi filed their injunctions in February 2023, winning them a few months after in May.
‘Liberation’
LOONA members took to social media to react to the news, with Yeojin, Yves, Go Won, and Olivia Hye thanking the group’s fans for their support.
“I think we got a good outcome because you were always on our side and rooted for us and gave us strength,” Olivia Hye wrote.
Fans have been boycotting BlockBerry Creative since December 2022, calling out the agency for apparently mistreating LOONA members and signing them to contracts that leave them “in perpetual debt.”
Seven of the LOONA members are currently pursuing their respective endeavors.
Heejin, Kim Lip, Jinsoul, and Choerry signed exclusive contracts with Modhaus and launched the ARTMS project in March 2023. The project is now teasing a comeback of the LOONA subunit ODD EYE CIRCLE, comprising Kim Lip, Jinsoul, and Choerry.
In April, Chuu signed an exclusive contract with a new agency ATRP. She has also teased an upcoming solo album in the second half of 2023, with details still pending as of this posting.
Meanwhile, Hyunjin and Vivi signed exclusive contracts with CTDENM in June. – Rappler.com
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