Article: [Exclusive] 9 LOONA members excluding Vivi, Hyunjin file lawsuits to terminate their contracts
Source: JTBC
More LOONA members have filed to terminate their contracts with Blockberry Creative.
On the 28th, 9 members (Heejin, Haseul, Yeojin, Kim Lip, Jinsoul, Choerry, Yves, Go won, Olivia Hye), excluding Vivi and Hyunjin recently suspended their exclusive contracts with the agency and have filed an injunction application.
It has been confirmed that the 9 members made this decision after judging that mutual trust, which was the premise of the contract, has collapsed and it has reached a point where it's difficult to expect mutual cooperation with management and group activities.
In this regard, Blockberry denied the news to JTBC entertainment news team and stated, "that since Chuu established her private company, their artists official position has remained the same every time."
Chuu, who was recently kicked out from LOONA, also filed an injunction in December of last year to suspend the validity of her exclusive contract. Afterwards, after some victories, they continued their group activities and freely conducted their solo schedules without agency restrictions.
However, the contract period for LOONA is somewhat unusual as each member made their debut under LOONA from October 2016 as some members also debuted in unit when a certain number of members were filled. As a result, all LOONA members have have a different debut date and signed a 7-year contract based on their first album as a complete group that was released on August 20, 2018.
If Heejin, Haseul, Yeojin, Kim Lip, Jinsoul, Choerry, Yves, Go won, and Olivia Hye win their contract lawsuits with the agency, it'll be difficult to carry out activities as LOONA and the group will disband.
This is most likely due to Blockberry's financial difficulties. Last year, rumors of the agency not being able to pay outsourced contracts and personnel working with the group surfaced. In addition, Chuu who had frequent solo schedules and most active among the members was also known to have not received settlement for activities, causing controversy. At the time, the agency did not express any position.
Meanwhile, Blockberry announced on the 25th that they have kicked Chuu from LOONA and plan a new start as 11 members however it appears it will not be easy to bridge the rift with the members.
