K-Pop artist Son Seung-yeon recently expressed her discomfort regarding her name being implicated in the ongoing group Fifty Fifty controversy, promising legal action against any circulating malicious rumors.

During this process, she shared her side of the legal dispute with her former agency, a narrative filled with subjective interpretations that have had a backlash, contributing to a surge in negative public opinion.

On the 25th, Son's current agency, The Givers, declared through an official statement that "the exclusive contract with her former agency, Forchun Entertainment, was legally terminated," asserting that "Son Seung-yeon repeatedly requested for the execution of account settlement duties, but Forchun did not comply at all, leading her to notify the termination of the exclusive contract."

In February 2017, after the suspension of the exclusive contract was rejected, Son's party requested for a statement of accounts and payment of the settlement amount. However, Forchun insisted on the return of the 'personal bankbook' first, and after its return, only withdrew the remaining balance without fulfilling their promise for settlement, as claimed by The Givers.

Therefore, the claim that "Son Seung-yeon agreed to pay damages or a penalty" is entirely untrue. They emphasized that the lawsuit ended after confirming that there were "no claims or liabilities" following proper legal procedures and asked for the cessation of spreading false information.

This is Son Seung-yeon's view of the lawsuit at the time. Her connection with Forchun Entertainment began in July 2013. They signed an exclusive contract under the condition of splitting all profits from records, music, performances, events, and broadcasting appearances 50-50 for a total of 5 years until July 2018 - a groundbreaking term for a rookie.

For three years, Son Seung-yeon successfully carried out her activities without any issues, earning significant income each year. However, in October 2016, various noises that are currently causing problems began to surface.

Son Seung-yeon sued Forchun for the suspension of the exclusive contract without showing any particular intention or objections. The court rejected her arguments as unfounded and unilateral, issuing a dismissal verdict in February 2017.

However, Son Seung-yeon did not return to Forchun. She unilaterally carried out TV appearances and regional musical performances while the injunction lawsuit was ongoing. She even withdrew public funds from the appearance fee account managed and distributed by the company and used it personally, leading to demands for restitution.

Forchun wished for a successful conclusion or at least an amicable agreement during the remaining contract period and announced this officially through the media.

Despite this, Son Seung-yeon showed little will to continue her journey with Forchun. According to Forchun, after her defeat, Son Seung-yeon fluctuated in her position, stating at their first meeting that she "wants to terminate the exclusive contract," then two weeks later saying, "I will return to the agency, but I will take a break for now," and later stating again that she "wants to terminate the contract."

Considering the continuous delay in negotiations and Son Seung-yeon's lack of willingness to resolve the matter, Forchun filed for damages at the Seoul Central District Court in April 2017. Instead of claiming the contract penalty of approximately 2.4 billion won, they demanded around 200 million won, the expected sales share during the remaining contract period.

Son Seung-yeon did not respond much to this lawsuit and partially won a filing for an injunction prohibiting interference with her entertainment activities in June of the same year. She continued her independent entertainment activities while the damage claim lawsuit was ongoing, but both sides agreed to avoid a war of attrition before the main trial, thereby ending the lawsuit. Son Seung-yeon did not receive the settlement amount of approximately 200 million won, effectively vomiting out the claimed damages.

Despite these circumstances, Son Seung-yeon's party attached only the decision of the 'injunction against interference with entertainment activities,' which was in her favor, in the position announced today. This is a lawsuit carried out to ensure the entertainment activities of entertainers by pledging a deposit as collateral, which can be carried out regardless of the outcome of the exclusive contract lawsuit.

At the time, the court cited some of Son Seung-yeon's arguments, but also pointed out that Son Seung-yeon had refused entertainment activities proposed by the agency without any convincing reasons.

Son Seung-yeon's side keeps mentioning the opaque settlement, but it does not seem very persuasive. The settlement issue was essentially transparent during the exclusive contract lawsuit. The bank account details were completely disclosed, and the court had supported Forchun's stance. Subsequently, due to lawsuits, the functions of Forchun as Son Seung-yeon's exclusive agency and affiliated company essentially stopped, and this payment of settlement money also stopped. This is the industry's view towards the settlement money conflict.

Health problems and discomfort are also poisoning Son Seung-yeon. At the end of his position that day, Son Seung-yeon revealed his frustration, stating, "Despite the onset of polyps, which are as important to a singer's life as mine, in the vocal cords during the Fortunes period, I had to handle an excessively strenuous schedule. As a result, my health deteriorated, leading me to focus on rehabilitation for nearly two years, and this led to my current state of improvement."

However, this only stoked negative public sentiment. It was already reported through various media outlets that Son Seung-yeon had a strong desire to do musicals, despite his agency's advice against it at the time of signing with Fortune.

The fact that the rehabilitation period of two years keeps changing also arouses suspicion. Previously, The Givers revealed in response to TV Daily's inquiry about CEO An Seong-il's involvement in the lawsuit, "After the main lawsuit, Son Seung-yeon was unable to work due to polyps and vocal cord rehabilitation, and actually spent two years more on rest and rehabilitation."

Statements like "Two years after the lawsuit," "Nearly two years," etc., keep changing, making The Givers' position seem dubious and raising doubts about its sincerity.

Naturally, the perspective on the suspicion that CEO An Seong-il was involved in the lawsuit is also intensifying. The Givers asserts, "There was no intervention by CEO An Seong-il of The Givers during the legal dispute between Son Seung-yeon and his former agency, and it has nothing to do with the current situation of Fifty Fifty."

Whether this is true or not will be revealed over time. However, evidence and testimonies of circumstances such as Son Seung-yeon accompanying managers from CEO An Seong-il's side on schedules when he was in a standoff with Fortune keep surfacing, leading to ongoing suspicion.

Previously, Son Seung-yeon warned of legal action on his social networking service (SNS) account, saying, "Those who only see and hear unilaterally edited positions and materials and curse might exist. I'm trying to understand this, but I can't stand it anymore."

Fortune's CEO Lee Jin-young told TV Daily, "The process of terminating a contract from a relationship like family that we shared our joys and sorrows for several years was painful, but I have been supporting from afar since we largely agreed. But it's true that I'm surprised to see a statement that is not true," but he held back on his words.

On the other hand, as the conflict between Fifty Fifty's agency Attrakt, which is in charge of Fifty Fifty's music services, deepens, various related incidents and accidents are resurfacing. Recently, issues such as CEO An Seong-il's falsification of academic records and publication of false work experiences have come up, and CEO An acknowledged this and announced his position to "correct" it.

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