SBS’ ‘I Want to Know’ (Gal), which dealt with the exclusive contract dispute between the group Fifty Fifty, was embroiled in controversy over biased broadcasting. It was pointed out that he was biased towards forming public opinion of sympathy for the members without clearing up various suspicions.
On SBS’ ‘I Want to Know’, which aired on the 19th, the truth battle surrounding the exclusive contract dispute between the girl group ‘FIFTY FIFTY’ was discussed. It was composed of interviews with the agency Attract, outsourcing service company Dugibus, and members’ families.
On this day’s broadcast, a member of Fifty Fifty’s family revealed the health problems of the members. He said, “The settlement issue is incidental. There was a time when a member ran out of the agency because it was very difficult,” he said. “I had several seizures due to panic disorder. There were times when I fainted in the hospital and woke up on a ventilator.”
In addition, interviews with members’ families continued, “The CEO of Attract was feared by the children,” and “It is a part where young children have to live at this agency for 7 years, and the children do not seem to be able to endure it.”
Another member’s family said, “There was CCTV at the agency, and the dorm was under too much surveillance and control, and the pressure was so great that meals were not provided properly.” I was severely insulted by these insulting words telling me to pick it all up and throw it in the trash quickly.”
The members of Fifty Fifty expressed their position in a handwritten letter sent to the production team, “It is true that we are exhausted and having a hard time due to rumors, but we are determined to persevere in order to repay those who support us.”
After that, the broadcast was on the cutting board due to the controversy over ‘biased broadcasting’. This is because most of the contents of the broadcast only followed previous reports, and excessively represented the position of the members of Fifty Fifty. In particular, it did not deal with the fact that Fifty Fifty filed an individual trademark application for the Korean team name and activity name, which emerged as a major issue in this case, or the case of falsifying academic background and resume, CEO Ahn Seong-il of Dugibus.
As of 9:00 am on the 20th after the broadcast, more than 800 posts were posted on the bulletin board of GRAL viewers pointing out the bias of the broadcast and demanding the program be abolished. Viewers commented, “(Members) didn’t say anything about trademark registration, and it was biased broadcasting”, “Why 메이저놀이터did you describe the ongoing case in which a businessman was nearly killed as ‘a sad fairy tale where children’s dreams disappeared'”, “Sentimental arms.” They are broadcasting clarification,” etc.
Koh Guk-jin, a KBS entertainment producer, also left an episode aired on his social network service (SNS) that day and said, “What the hell do you want to talk about? I was at a loss for words at the end of appealing to my emotions,” he said. All activities that generate profits such as events and advertisements are settled or reimbursed, but even if you only asked the company’s entertainment PD who knows the entertainment business well,” he expressed regret.
Previously, Fifty Fifty rose to the Billboard charts with the song “Cupid” released earlier this year and emerged as a “miracle of small and medium-sized idols.” However, on June 19th, a wave of repercussions broke out when they filed an application for a provisional injunction to suspend the exclusive contract against their agency Attract.
Fifty Fifty explained the reason for the provisional injunction, saying that Attract violated the contract and destroyed the relationship of trust, such as non-transparent settlement and unilateral activities that did not take into account health conditions. Later, on the first interrogation date, he took a strong stance, citing the omission of settlement-related items as evidence.
On the other hand, Attract argued that there is a force behind the incident, saying that the settlement data problem was omitted due to a mistake by an outsourcing company (Dugiverse).
The court held a mediation date on the 9th by referring it to mediation with the intention of resolving the conflict through compromise, but it was concluded without reaching an agreement.
Meanwhile, Attract CEO Jeon Hong-joon pointed out Dugiverse, who was in charge of producing ‘Cupid’, as an outside force trying to rob the members of Fifty Fifty. Accordingly, three people, including Dugibus CEO Ahn Seong-il, have been sued for fraud, business breach of trust, business embezzlement, forgery of private documents, and forgery of documents under investigation.