“Canceled” Fifth-Generation Idol Exposes Unfavorable Contract Terms Demanded By Label

Fantasy Boys winner Yu Junwon (Junwon) released the contract terms PocketDol Studio offered.

On August 24, Yu Junwon took to his Instagram to address recent media reports about the circumstances surrounding the idol’s exit. Recently, it was revealed that Junwon would not be debuting with Fantasy Boys despite placing first in its debut competition.

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In his statement, the idol denied reports claiming the idol had left due to the way profits would be split between him and the label.

I really wanted to come to an agreement, but this has turned into a very difficult fight. The company claims I left because of the profit distribution, but that is not true.

— Yu Junwon

Junwon then revealed the reason why he left was due to the company asking for the idol to pay for monthly expenses in turn for offering a more favorable profit split.

We negotiated that the profit would be split 5:5, and we have never objected to this. However, the company asked me to pay for monthly expenses and other unfavorable stipulations that have caused me to lose faith in the company and walk away.

— Yu Junwon

Yu Junwon then uploaded the contested contract terms to his Instagram. In the contract, Junwon and the Fantasy Boys members were asked to pay the following monthly expenses.

• On-site Manager ₩12.0 million KRW (about $9,030 USD)
• PR Manager ₩8.00 million KRW (about $6,020 USD)
• Contents/photo/marketing/A&R ₩18.0 million KRW (about $13,500 USD)
• General planning/overseas business ₩8.00 million KRW (about $6,020 USD)
• Fan manager ₩6.00 million KRW (about $4,520 USD)
• Rent ₩300,000 KRW (about $226 USD)

It’s noteworthy that a 5:5 split is much larger than the average idol contract, in which labels usually take the lion’s share of an 8:2 or 7:3 split, and the expenses would be split among 12 members. With this said, did PocketDol Studio ask for too much? Or do you think it was fair for the label to ask for these stipulations considering the profit distribution split?

Stay tuned for updates.