>Six members of the boy group FANTASY BOYS have set out to sever ties with their agency, PocketDol Studio.
>
>According to coverage by The Fact on the 19th, FANTASY BOYS members Kang Minseo, Lee Hanbin, Hikaru, Hong Sungmin, Kim Gyurae, and Kaedan recently filed a lawsuit against PocketDol Studio for the non-existence of their exclusive contracts, as well as an application for a provisional injunction to suspend the validity of said contracts. The reasons for filing the lawsuit include settlement issues such as failure to provide data and non-payment, problems with the company’s finances and operations, and the breakdown of trust due to non-fulfillment of contractual obligations.
>
>According to insiders, the six members claim in their complaint that the agency ‘violated the duty to provide settlement statements’, that ‘the settlement statements included items that were not actually executed and some costs were not paid’, and that ‘although the contract stipulated that hundreds of millions of won in labor costs be deducted every quarter, most of that personnel did not actually exist or their activity details could not be verified’.
>
>Furthermore, they stated that procedures to extend the visa status of foreign members were not carried out in a timely manner, resulting in restrictions on their activities. This passage implies that there are problems with the company’s operations and management.
>
>In fact, prior to this, Kang Minseo recently told fans on a fan communication platform, ‘The electricity was out in the dorm. Sorry for only charging my phone and contacting you now’, and ‘It wasn’t a blackout, but I think the electricity bill wasn’t paid; it’s a bit stressful.’
>
>The side representing the six members sent an official letter requesting corrections to PocketDol Studio on September 30th, but when no action was taken, they sent an official letter notifying contract termination on October 28th. Subsequently, this month, they filed the lawsuit to confirm the non-existence of the exclusive contract and the application for a provisional injunction to suspend its validity.
>
>FANTASY BOYS is a group born through the MBC boy group audition program Fantasy Boys – My Teenage Boy Season 2, broadcast in 2023, and they debuted in September 2023. At the time, Yu Junwon, who took 1st place in the program and was scheduled to debut with FANTASY BOYS, came into conflict with PocketDol Studio and left the team.
>
>Because of this, FANTASY BOYS debuted and promoted as an 11-member group instead of the planned 12. With the majority of the multinational members—including Korean (Kang Minseo, Lee Hanbin, Hong Sungmin, Kim Gyurae), Japanese (Hikaru), and American (Kaedan)—filing this lawsuit and injunction application, FANTASY BOYS is now in a situation where maintaining the team itself has become burdensome.
>
>This is not the first time singers belonging to PocketDol Studio have filed exclusive contract lawsuits. Previously, Nam Dohyon, a member of their boy group BAE173, filed for an injunction to suspend the validity of his exclusive contract in 2023, won the case, and left. Recently, another member, Doha, also filed a lawsuit to confirm the non-existence of his exclusive contract and applied for a provisional injunction to suspend its validity.
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PocketDol Studio needs to shutter their doors at this point. Idk how they are still running. Rooting for the boys!!!✊
iamstrong2 on
Hopefully the rest of Fantasy Boys and BAE173 will leave as well. Thank goodness CLASS:y managed to escape.
popularsong on
to freedom!!!!!
wonder what the other members plan to do… hyeontae and wooseok have been moving like business as usual
i expected lingqi to be among those to sue since he sent the “i won’t be able to contact you” message too, wonder if there’s some hangup because he is a foreigner? also worried about hikari, i hope his knee treatment is not tied to the company
i hope everyone gets out soon, they definitely have tons of mistreatment to show (hell i can name like 10 different incidents just off the top of my head) so i am not too worried about them winning the suit
however i do need to like cry a little that a group i love will be gone and i will never see them perform my beloved songs as 10 </3 i will always love them…
LoveIsVolcano on
I think Hikari might still be tied to his Japanese company, so any contract termination procedures would have to go through them. Same thing with Hyeontae. Ling Qi’s absence might be because he is a foreigner. Wooseok is the mystery to me, but maybe he’s just too busy with his musical to go through the process right now.
In any case, really hoping for the best here. They all need to get out while they’re still young and can debut elsewhere, maybe even together if there’s enough interest.
friedriceforbrunch on
While they’re at it, they might as well go after MBC for keeping Pocketdol in charge of the idols debuting through their shows.
Kia_Mia on
Yay, finally!! This company is horrible and the boys deserve sooo much better.
I remember Junwon had a lawsuit to leave before the group officially debuted. I wonder what happened to him?
cubsgirl101 on
I have no clue how Pocketdol is still around they need to be shuttered. Good luck boys ❤️
justanotherkpoppie on
I hope they’re able to free themselves!!!
kasumagic on
Two MBK Ls in a week!
Kittystar143 on
I hope they all get free, it was said they’ve had no hearing in the dorms either. I can’t imagine how hard it has been for all the members.
German_mikan on
Hopefully they are successful! Each time I hear about PocketDol they seem to get worse so I hope everyone gets their freedom
ultsiyeon on
Anyone successfully escaping Pocketdol is a cause for celebration. Good luck to them!!!!
13 Comments
Good. I hope they can get out of it.
**[English translation cr. neokjun:](https://xcancel.com/neokjun/status/1990650515173277888)**
>Six members of the boy group FANTASY BOYS have set out to sever ties with their agency, PocketDol Studio.
>
>According to coverage by The Fact on the 19th, FANTASY BOYS members Kang Minseo, Lee Hanbin, Hikaru, Hong Sungmin, Kim Gyurae, and Kaedan recently filed a lawsuit against PocketDol Studio for the non-existence of their exclusive contracts, as well as an application for a provisional injunction to suspend the validity of said contracts. The reasons for filing the lawsuit include settlement issues such as failure to provide data and non-payment, problems with the company’s finances and operations, and the breakdown of trust due to non-fulfillment of contractual obligations.
>
>According to insiders, the six members claim in their complaint that the agency ‘violated the duty to provide settlement statements’, that ‘the settlement statements included items that were not actually executed and some costs were not paid’, and that ‘although the contract stipulated that hundreds of millions of won in labor costs be deducted every quarter, most of that personnel did not actually exist or their activity details could not be verified’.
>
>Furthermore, they stated that procedures to extend the visa status of foreign members were not carried out in a timely manner, resulting in restrictions on their activities. This passage implies that there are problems with the company’s operations and management.
>
>In fact, prior to this, Kang Minseo recently told fans on a fan communication platform, ‘The electricity was out in the dorm. Sorry for only charging my phone and contacting you now’, and ‘It wasn’t a blackout, but I think the electricity bill wasn’t paid; it’s a bit stressful.’
>
>The side representing the six members sent an official letter requesting corrections to PocketDol Studio on September 30th, but when no action was taken, they sent an official letter notifying contract termination on October 28th. Subsequently, this month, they filed the lawsuit to confirm the non-existence of the exclusive contract and the application for a provisional injunction to suspend its validity.
>
>FANTASY BOYS is a group born through the MBC boy group audition program Fantasy Boys – My Teenage Boy Season 2, broadcast in 2023, and they debuted in September 2023. At the time, Yu Junwon, who took 1st place in the program and was scheduled to debut with FANTASY BOYS, came into conflict with PocketDol Studio and left the team.
>
>Because of this, FANTASY BOYS debuted and promoted as an 11-member group instead of the planned 12. With the majority of the multinational members—including Korean (Kang Minseo, Lee Hanbin, Hong Sungmin, Kim Gyurae), Japanese (Hikaru), and American (Kaedan)—filing this lawsuit and injunction application, FANTASY BOYS is now in a situation where maintaining the team itself has become burdensome.
>
>This is not the first time singers belonging to PocketDol Studio have filed exclusive contract lawsuits. Previously, Nam Dohyon, a member of their boy group BAE173, filed for an injunction to suspend the validity of his exclusive contract in 2023, won the case, and left. Recently, another member, Doha, also filed a lawsuit to confirm the non-existence of his exclusive contract and applied for a provisional injunction to suspend its validity.
—
PocketDol Studio needs to shutter their doors at this point. Idk how they are still running. Rooting for the boys!!!✊
Hopefully the rest of Fantasy Boys and BAE173 will leave as well. Thank goodness CLASS:y managed to escape.
to freedom!!!!!
wonder what the other members plan to do… hyeontae and wooseok have been moving like business as usual
i expected lingqi to be among those to sue since he sent the “i won’t be able to contact you” message too, wonder if there’s some hangup because he is a foreigner? also worried about hikari, i hope his knee treatment is not tied to the company
i hope everyone gets out soon, they definitely have tons of mistreatment to show (hell i can name like 10 different incidents just off the top of my head) so i am not too worried about them winning the suit
however i do need to like cry a little that a group i love will be gone and i will never see them perform my beloved songs as 10 </3 i will always love them…
I think Hikari might still be tied to his Japanese company, so any contract termination procedures would have to go through them. Same thing with Hyeontae. Ling Qi’s absence might be because he is a foreigner. Wooseok is the mystery to me, but maybe he’s just too busy with his musical to go through the process right now.
In any case, really hoping for the best here. They all need to get out while they’re still young and can debut elsewhere, maybe even together if there’s enough interest.
While they’re at it, they might as well go after MBC for keeping Pocketdol in charge of the idols debuting through their shows.
Yay, finally!! This company is horrible and the boys deserve sooo much better.
I remember Junwon had a lawsuit to leave before the group officially debuted. I wonder what happened to him?
I have no clue how Pocketdol is still around they need to be shuttered. Good luck boys ❤️
I hope they’re able to free themselves!!!
Two MBK Ls in a week!
I hope they all get free, it was said they’ve had no hearing in the dorms either. I can’t imagine how hard it has been for all the members.
Hopefully they are successful! Each time I hear about PocketDol they seem to get worse so I hope everyone gets their freedom
Anyone successfully escaping Pocketdol is a cause for celebration. Good luck to them!!!!