K-pop agency Blockberry Creative’s petition to ban former LOONA singer Chuu’s domestic entertainment activities has reportedly been dismissed by the Korea Entertainment Management Association (CEMA).
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In February 2023, CEMA revealed to news outlets that Blockberry Creative had petitioned it in December 2022 for the suspension of ex-LOONA’s Chuu’s entertainment activities in South Korea.
According to CEMA, the K-pop agency claimed that Chuu had violated the terms of their previous contract, alleging that she had moved to sign a with new agency BY4MSTUDIO in 2021, when her exclusive contract with Blockberry Creative was still active.
Earlier today (April 4), South Korean news outlet TV Report reported that CEMA has since concluded its investigation and allegedly ruled in favour of Chuu after judging that Blockberry Creative’s claims regarding her violation of contract terms had been made on “insufficient grounds”.
According to TV Report, CEMA has reportedly found there to be no evidence suggesting that Chuu and BY4MSTUDIO had made prior contact, adding that the issue of the agency’s claims should instead be addressed in court as part of the ongoing legal dispute between Blockberry Creative and Chuu.
NME has reached out to Blockberry Creative for comment.
Chuu had been a member of girl group LOONA until November 2022, when Blockberry Creative announced her expulsion from the group due to the singer’s alleged “violent language and misuse of power toward our staff”. The announcement was largely met with skepticism online, and Chuu later responded by saying she had not “done anything that would be shameful to my fans”.
In the weeks following Chuu’s departure, the agency announced that LOONA would be making a comeback as an 11-member group with a new record titled ‘The Origin Album: 0’. However, the release was later “postponed indefinitely” after nine of the act’s remaining members filed for injunctions to suspend their contracts with the company.
Members Heejin, Kim Lip, Jinsoul and Choerry have since successfully terminated their contracts with Blockberry Creative and signed with Modhaus, a new agency led by LOONA’s former creative director, Jaden Jeong.
The remaining members who had filed for injunctions — Haseul, Yeojin, Yves, Gowon and Olivia Hye — were rejected on the basis that they had previously amended parts of their contracts. The final two members, Vivi and Hyunjin, reportedly filed for a similar injunction in February, the results of which are still pending.
The post Blockberry Creative’s petition to block ex-LOONA member Chuu’s entertainment activities found to have “insufficient grounds” appeared first on NME.
