On April 9th, Stray Kids participated in a fansign event in Japan, collaborating with SLBS, a prominent phone case brand for which they serve as ambassadors. The event initially unfolded smoothly, celebrating the partnership between the group and the brand.

However, the atmosphere shifted after the event concluded. Some fans disclosed that once the members of Stray Kids and JYP Entertainment's staff had departed, SLBS conducted a secret auction. This auction involved selling clothes that had been worn by the group members during the event, catching many fans off guard and sparking controversy.

Fans were appalled upon discovering the secret auction and swiftly called for clarity and accountability from both SLBS and JYP Entertainment. They expressed their dissatisfaction and frustration, urging the involved parties to provide an explanation for the unauthorized sale of the members' clothing.

Yesterday, SLBS addressed the controversy by issuing an apology on Twitter. They confirmed that they had indeed sold the clothing worn by Stray Kids members without the consent of JYP Entertainment. In their statement, SLBS acknowledged the oversight and informed the public that they had successfully retrieved the items and issued refunds to the purchasers. This move aimed to rectify the situation and restore trust with the fans and their business partners.

The full apology:

"Hello, this is from SLBS Korea HQ.

Today we are here in response to the unfortunate incident that had occurred on April 9th. We sincerely apologize for the incident and to everyone that had been deeply hurt and disturbed by it, including the attendees, fans who had learned about what had happened through social media, and most importantly, the artist, agency, and all interested parties. We would like to use this opportunity to explain circumstances of it and the subsequent actions to be taken.

After the Fan Signing Event in Japan was completed, a private auction was held with the garments that the artist had worn during the campaign shoot without a prior consent of JYP Entertainment Co., Ltd. Rather than having the mentioned garments reserved at SLBS, we thought of having them available for the fans who would find them more meaningful and understand the worth and organized it as a separate event in a form of a surprise. However, we deeply regret the lack of sensitivity in such action and apologize once again for all the troubles and concerns caused.

The garments that had been sold during this auction will be collected again, and any profit raised will be returned to the buyers. We deeply apologize to the attendees of the event and for all the troubles caused after attending the event.

We fully acknowledge that under the title "Global Fan Event", our Fan Signing Event should have been conducted more carefully with better attention to details and higher morals; however, this had failed unacceptably, and we understand that our words cannot make up for all the concerns and afflictions caused. To prevent any further distress, all our subsequent actions will be carried out more cautiously with closer cooperation with JYP Entertainment Co., LTD.

The progress of our subsequent actions will be openly shared as quickly and as transparent as possible. We will take this as an opportunity to reinforce our ethics and morals towards our collaborative works. Lastly, we sincerely apologize for the defamation caused to SLBS Japan local operator Inbound Platform Corp and all interested parties due to our shortcomings.

This official apology announcement will be posted and pinned on SLBS Instagram and X(twitter) for three days. We are deeply sorry once again."

However, fans feel that SLBS's apology is too little, too late. They are particularly concerned that the apology will be deleted in just three days, which does little to address the violation of the members' rights or repair the damage done. Furthermore, observant fans noted that Stray Kids were not using their SLBS phone cases during their most recent livestream, suggesting a possible rift with the brand following the incident.

This prompted some fans to ask for JYPE to end their contract with SLBS.