K-pop idol Gaeun, previously a member of girl group MADEIN, has filed a lawsuit against her former label’s CEO for sexual harassment.
On April 29, a press conference was held in Seoul to address the sexual harassment complaint filed by the former K-pop idol against the CEO of 143 Entertainment. She left MADEIN last year after the company and its chief executive were accused of sexual harassment against the member, which at the time 143 Entertainment denied.
The press conference was attended by Gaeun’s mother, her legal representative, a former A&R team leader at 143 Entertainment, representatives from the Hanbit Media Labour Human Rights Center and more. Gaeun’s attorney told press, per translations by Soompi: “This case involves the agency’s CEO (hereinafter referred to as Mr. A) committing a sexual harassment crime against a female idol group member against her will.”
Lawyer Moon Hyo-jung added: “Although Mr. A initially admitted to the inappropriate conduct and apologised several times, he later changed his stance, claiming that the sexual contact was not forced, using the victim’s ongoing activities as leverage.” Moon then told press that “the victim recently submitted a complaint against Mr. A to the local police station. It is expected that the police will summon him for questioning soon.”
Hanbit Media Labour Human Rights Center representatives also chimed in, clarifying that Gaeun was under the age of 19 at the time the alleged sexual harassment occurred, and is therefore protected under “the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse” as a minor.
Shortly after the press conference, 143 Entertainment issued a statement claiming that “there are many aspects of the claims made by the member’s side that do not align with the facts”. However, it assured that it plans to cooperate with the ongoing police investigation and “seek to correct any distortions based on objective evidence.”
“Additionally, it is deeply regrettable that the member’s side, regarding an incident that was already reported last year, demanded a large settlement based solely on their unilateral claims, and when this was refused, proceeded to file a criminal complaint about six months after the incident occurred,” it claimed.
MADEIN debuted in September last year and notably include two former members of Kep1er, a project girl group formed from the winning trainees from Mnet’s idol survival programme Girls’ Planet 999.
Mashiro and Yeseo were the only members of Kep1er who opted not to extend their contracts with the girl group, and officially left after their contracts expired at the start of July. The remaining members will continue as a seven-member group, though agency WAKEONE did not specify the length of their contract extension.
For more help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.