Star Today | Journalist Lee Dakyeom
https://m.entertain.naver.com/now/article/009/0005402657
Band Jannabi revealed to have been working with ex-member, Yoo Younghyun. Fans expressed outrage upon discovering this, the agency stated, "We had never intended to hide this in the first place", and announced they would not continue to work with Yoo Younghyun in the future.
On November 13, Peponi Music CEO Choi Jungjoon addressed the controversy in a statement posted on Jannabi's fan cafe. He stated, "Peponi Music will no longer continue to work with Yoo Younghyun as sound support staff. The process of communicating this to fans was inappropriate, and poor judgment and inadequate responses have caused disappointment to many fans," apologizing for the mismanagement.
This comes after fans discovered that Yoo Younghyun, who left the band in May 2019 due to school violence accusations, had been working as a sound engineer. The controversy escalated when the agency reportedly removed some fans who raised the issues on the band's official fan cafe.
In a statement on November 12, Choi Jungjoon admitted that Yoo Younghyun had been working with the band as a sound engineer at performances and rehearsals. However, he denied any attempt to hide this fact, explaining, "From the beginning, there was no intention to hide or cover up this matter. We planned to provide a detailed explanation after related issues were resolved."
He also denied claims that Yoo Younghyun had been secretly involved in Jannabi's music production, stating that legal action would be taken against the spread of misinformation.
Despite the clarification, fans’ anger continued to grow, which eventually led Choi Jungjoon to issue another statement the following day, promising not to work with Yoo Younghyun in the future.
Jannabi's leader Choi Junghoon also addressed the issue, referring to the school violence scandal that led to Yoo Younghyun’s departure in May 2019. He admitted, “If I had been transparent about everything back then, this current situation might have been avoided.” He apologized for employing Yoo Younghyun as staff despite the inappropriate circumstances.
Jannabi was formed in 2011 by school friends Choi Junghoon, Kim Dohyung, and Yoo Younghyun. The band officially debuted as a five-member group in 2015, with the addition of Jang Kyungjoon and Yoon Gyeol. Their 2019 hit song 'For Lovers Who Hesitate' gained them popularity. However, controversies involving Yoo Younghyun in 2019 and Yoon Gyeol in 2021 led to their departures, while Jang Kyungjoon later stepped back due to personal reasons. Jannabi is now a duo.
-He only left the team, but kept doing all the workㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-This band has so much drama going on...
-This band is really full of issues.
-Birds of a feather flock together, I guess.
-The CEO is his older brother? That makes the company is a family business then.
-But isn’t it fine for him to work as staff?
-Isn’t the father of this band's vocalist a fraudster?ㅋㅋㅋ
-If they want to keep their remaining fans, they should avoid causing more controversies.
-Look at their audacity.
-I figured this would happen anyway.
-What are they doing?
