Chuu is no longer a member of K-pop girl group LOONA, and events surrounding the exit have caused a stir in Korea’s media and music industries.
BlockBerryCreative, the label of the K-pop girl group, announced Friday via LOONA’s online “Fancafé” that Chuu has been expelled and withdrawn from the 12-member group. The fan cafe post is only available to subscribers to the Korean site, but local media widely shared the news and statements. In the report, the agency cited an investigation that found Chuu used “violent language” and “abuse of power towards employees” (as in translations by soompi).
BlockBerryCreative and Chuu’s relationship has caused concern among fans and has been prone to media speculation over the past year.
Rumors surfaced in the spring that Chuu was taking legal action in 2021 to cut parts of her exclusive deal with BlockBerryCreative. Over the summer, the stories evolved into Chuu joining a new management label and starting her own agency. BlockBerryCreative opposed any management changes. Nevertheless, the 23-year-old did not take part in LOONA’s world tour, which visited North America, Europe and Asia from August to October of this year, or in their recent Japanese single “Luminous”. Chuu has remained busy with many TV appearances, building a YouTube channel and releasing solo singles as LOONA’s most visible member.
In the spring, Chuu was rumored to have taken legal action in 2021 to cut parts of her exclusive deal with BlockBerryCreative. In the summer, stories ranged from Chuu joining a new management label to starting his own agency. BlockBerryCreative denied that it would transfer management. Nevertheless, the 23-year-old did not take part in LOONA’s world tour, which visited North America, Europe and Asia from August to October of this year, or in their recent Japanese single “Luminous”. Chuu stayed busy with many TV appearances, built a YouTube channel and released solo singles as LOONA’s most visible member.
On November 28, BlockBerryCreative followed up with another statement, saying the expulsion was not retaliation. The label said it’s up to the parties involved to share specific evidence. She urged the media to refrain from speculative reporting after reading articles questioning BlockBerryCreative’s claims and intentions.
billboard repeatedly reached out to a BlockBerryCreative representative for comment as the stories unfolded. The rep confirmed Chuu’s removal from LOONA, pointing to previously shared statements.
Several K-pop stars and industry experts have publicly endorsed Chuu. Singer Sunmi posted a selfie of her with Chuu after the kicking news broke, while Korean music journalist Joy Park shared her memories of Chuu and a signed LOONA album on her Twitter account. Kim Do Heon, another Korean music critic, criticized BlockBerryCreative’s statement through a Twitter post.
For her part, Chuu shared a brief statement via an Instagram Story post. On Monday, the star wrote that she has not been contacted nor knows anything about the recent events. She shared that she would be releasing another statement soon, but told fans she hadn’t done anything they would disapprove of.
Another report surfaced Monday that nine of the remaining 11 LOONA members (Heejin, Haseul, Yeojin, Kim Lip, Jinsoul, Choerry, Yves, Go Won and Olivia Hye) took legal action to break their contracts with BlockBerryCreative. The agency denied the rumor. A representative from BlockBerryCreative told billboard that the report is “unfounded”.
LOONA (whose Korean name translates to “Girl of the Month”) began their journey in 2016 with an ambitious plan to introduce each member with their own solo music and splinter units between members before finally all 12 members coming together for the in August 2018 [+ +] EP. Since then, LOONA has received several entries in world albums and even sent theirs [12:00] album hit the Billboard 200. The group hit #1 on World Digital Song Sales with their songs “365” and “Shake It” and became one of the few K-pop acts to climb the pop airplay chart with an English single a. “Star.”
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