A division of the Seoul High Court ruled in favor of the five remaining members of the originally 12-member K-pop group LOONA, who appealed to terminate their contracts with the South Korean talent agency BlockBerry Creative.
The court decided to suspend the exclusive contracts of Haseul, Yeojin, Yves, Gowon and Olivia Hye with the talent label on Friday, June 16, as reported by Korean media outlet Segye Ilbo.
The five LOONA members filed an injunction to terminate their contract in January, but they lost because the artists reportedly amended their contracts with the talent agency.
The K-pop stars then appealed and won after the court found that BlockBerry Creative transferred the artists’ contracts to Japanese label Universal Japan, without the members’ written consent.
Earlier in January, LOONA members Heejin, Kim Lip, Jinsoul and Choerry won their contract termination lawsuit in January, while Hyunjin and Vivi won theirs in May.
The LOONA members had been mired in a lawsuit against BlockBerry Creative since 2022 after the agency expelled one of its members, Chuu, for her alleged abuse against company staff. Chuu denied these claims.
It can also be noted that Chuu’s removal happened a year after she filed for injunction to suspend her exclusive contract with the company, following reports that she was not being paid properly for her individual activities.
BlockBerry Creative has yet to comment on the five members’ win as of this writing.
LOONA, who debuted in 2016, is best known for their hit songs “Heart Attack,” “So What” and “PTT,” among others. /ra