SOURCE: 데뷔 직전 아이돌 연습생, 잠적→긴급 상황…'출국'까지 막혔다
Korean police have launched an investigation into a case involving a Japanese trainee who suddenly went missing just before his debut.
According to the police on the 3rd, the Seoul Yeongdeungpo Police Station recently received a complaint from an entertainment agency and booked Japanese trainee, identified as A, on charges of fraud. A travel ban has also been issued against him.
A had been preparing to debut as a member of a six-member boy group under the agency. In last December, just two months before his debut, he suddenly cut off contact and disappeared. At the time, he reportedly vanished after leaving a brief statement saying, "Trust has been broken."
During the investigation, it was revealed that A had signed an exclusive contract with another agency while his exclusive contract with his current agency was still valid. This situation, combined with his disappearance, has further intensified the controversy.
The agency claims to have suffered financial damages totaling about 57.43 billion KRW over four months due to A's sudden departure. This amount includes training costs, song production and choreography costs, recording costs, music video production costs, as well as food and accommodation costs incurred during debut preparations.
According to MBN on the 4th, A had already completed filming for the group's music video and that the song had already been released. The agency believes that A left the team without proper discussion, claiming 'artist abuse.' The agency also stated that A had a history of suddenly disappearing from his former agency in the past as well.
The police currently believe that A is still staying in Korea and are focusing on locating him. They are tracking his movements while verifying the facts related to the case.
