Former FIFTY FIFTY members Saena, Sio, and Aran, who have signed with a new agency and are preparing to resume their activities, have filed a counterclaim against their former agency, ATTRAKT. Their additional request to restrict the viewing/access of lawsuit records has been accepted.
According to the legal community, the court has granted the request filed on August 23 by Saena, Sio, Aran, and six others to restrict access to the lawsuit records, and the ruling has been sent to the legal teams of both parties.
Earlier, the three members filed a counterclaim against ATTRAKT’s lawsuit for the 13 billion KRW (~9.84 million USD) in damages lawsuit, explaining that "the purpose of this counterclaim is not simply to receive a portion of the unpaid settlement fees owed to the three members. Before determining the validity of ATTRAKT's 13 billion KRW damages claim, it is important and necessary to thoroughly organize the expenses related to each member's past entertainment activities."
They added, "This counterclaim followed the review by our legal team after the injunction to suspend the validity of the exclusive contract was dismissed. We found a basis for moving forward with the related procedures after confirming the overall revenue structure. So far, the three members have not received transparent settlement details from ATTRAKT."
ATTRAKT, on December 18, 2023, filed a 13 billion KRW damages lawsuit against the former FIFTY FIFTY members Saena, Aran, Sio, their parents, and An Seong Il (CEO of The Givers), along with others involved. Since the filing, the defendants have been submitting their responses to the lawsuit, and the 31st Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court had set the first trial date for August 29.
However, the trial has been delayed following the counterclaim, and the three members also applied on the 6th of this month for further restrictions on viewing the trial records, indicating a move to keep the lawsuit issues strictly confidential as they prepare to resume their activities.
The members recently signed with Massive E&C, a label under IOK Company, signaling a return to the music scene. Massive E&C emphasized that "the three members played a pivotal role in achieving remarkable success with 'Cupid' and turning it into a global mega-hit."
This legal battle dates back to June 2023. Following their meteoric rise with the hit song "Cupid," which set a new record by reaching the Billboard Hot 100 chart in just 130 days, FIFTY FIFTY's legal team announced on June 19, 2023, that they had filed an injunction to suspend the validity of their exclusive contract with ATTRAKT.
This sparked significant controversy. Shortly before, on June 23, ATTRAKT had announced that one of the members would be undergoing surgery due to health issues and would suspend activities. ATTRAKT also claimed that an external force had tried to persuade the members to breach their contracts during this period, alleging an attempt to "steal" the group. On June 26, 2023, ATTRAKT sent a legal notice to Warner Music Korea and accused An Seong Il, CEO of The Givers, who produced "Cupid," behind the attempt, filing charges against him with the Gangnam Police Station.
Meanwhile, despite ATTRAKT's CEO Jeon Hong Joon expressing a willingness to reconcile with the members and resume their activities, the members remained silent for two months. They strongly asserted they would "rather not continue as artists than return" and refused to engage in any settlement. Court mediation also failed.
Sixty days after announcing their separation from ATTRAKT, the members released handwritten letters expressing their regret for causing concern to their fans and stated, "We want the issues in the relationship with our agency, which were wrongfully imposed on us, to be corrected. We will continue to submit truthful evidence and materials to achieve this and resolve any misunderstandings. We sincerely hope that excessive criticism stemming from these misunderstandings will be stopped, and we ask everyone to observe the situation objectively. Our earnest wish is to work as sincere artists in a trustworthy environment."
Amid this, the members began posting long statements on their newly created Instagram account in August 2023, accusing ATTRAKT and CEO Jeon Hong Joon of misconduct. They claimed that Jeon had planned the members' settlement to resolve an advance payment with an investment company, and forced them to attend a promotional meeting with management company H USA without prior notice, among other issues related to their health.
However, by this time, public sentiment had already turned against the group, earning them the nickname "betrayers." They ultimately lost their lawsuit to suspend their exclusive contract with ATTRAKT. The 50th Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court ruled, "It is difficult to conclude that ATTRAKT violated its obligation to provide settlement details or failed in its duty of care and health management. Ending the contract with The Givers is also not considered a breach of the exclusive contract," leading to the dismissal of the case. The members appealed the decision, but member Keena unexpectedly withdrew her appeal, and the re-appeal was dismissed, resulting in ATTRAKT’s complete victory.
Despite this, Saena, Aran, and Sio continued with their legal battle and, even after the re-appeal was dismissed, through their legal team at Barun Law, stated, "Since both parties have declared the termination of the contract, it should be considered terminated, and there is no longer any reason to dispute the suspension of the exclusive contract. We will address the core issues in the main lawsuit." They also emphasized that the core issues, such as the settlement structure for their music revenue, the unnotified use of advance payments for FIFTY FIFTY’s production, and the accusation of breach of fiduciary duty against ATTRAKT’s CEO, should be addressed in the main trial.
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