Attract, the agency representing the group FIFTY FIFTY, has filed a damages lawsuit against Warner Music Korea. On the 23rd, Attract announced that it would be suing the former CEO and current executive director of Warner Music Korea, demanding compensation amounting to over 20 billion won for alleged tampering (premature contact before contract expiration).
Attract claims that Warner Music Korea played a significant role in the tampering process during the contract dispute with former FIFTY FIFTY members. They stated, “These individuals, along with the parents of the former members, held a tampering meeting at Warner Music Korea’s headquarters on May 17, 2023, and we have secured all crucial evidence from that time.”
Further, Attract declared that the illegal actions, which disrupted the normal activities of the former FIFTY FIFTY members, caused substantial harm to the company, and they intend to hold Warner Music Korea accountable.
Jeon Hong-jun, CEO of Attract, said, “The act of a branch of Warner Music, one of the world’s top three record companies, attempting to steal a valuable artist from a small South Korean agency is seen as an unforgivable shameless act. The actual damages incurred are much higher, and we initially claim 20 billion won but plan to increase the compensation amount later.”
Attract had previously announced in June last year that an external force was persuading the members to violate their exclusive contracts during a period of suspended activities due to health issues, claiming Warner Music Korea was one of those forces.
Meanwhile, FIFTY FIFTY debuted with their release of “Cupid” in February 2023, entering the Billboard Main Singles Chart ‘Hot 100’ within 130 days, setting a record for the shortest time for a K-pop idol’s debut entry into the ‘Hot 100’. They achieved a peak position of 17th on the chart and set a record for the longest-charting K-pop girl group with a 25-week presence.
In June last year, Attract revealed an external force trying to lure away FIFTY FIFTY members, and on the 27th of the same month, they filed a lawsuit against Dugiverse CEO An Sung-il and three others for obstruction of business by deleting project-related materials during the handover process and secretly buying the copyright to “Cupid.”
In August last year, the Seoul Central District Court dismissed FIFTY FIFTY’s application for an injunction to suspend the validity of their exclusive contract with Attract, and the four members remained with Attract for the time being. Following this, FIFTY FIFTY’s members immediately appealed the court’s dismissal of their application for an injunction against the exclusive contract.
In the midst of this, member Kina changed her legal representative last October and withdrew her appeal against the dismissal of the injunction, returning to Attract. However, Saena, Aran, and Sio continued to conflict with Attract, leading the agency to notify termination of the exclusive contract for the three on October 19, excluding Kina.
Attract has announced a fresh start by reorganizing into a quintet group centered around the returning member Kina.