B.A.P: Contract dispute not just about money, but also “a matter of trust”

Korean boy band B.A.P. (Photo: TS Entertainment)

SEOUL: K-pop boyband B.A.P, which collectively sued their management agency in November to terminate their contracts, said in a statement on Friday (Dec 5) that their contract dispute with the company is not only about money, but also “a matter of trust”, reported Korean media.

B.A.P’s management agency TS Entertainment had refuted the band’s claims that they were mistreated and received very little of the profits from their activities, explaining that it had cancelled two planned concert tours earlier this year to give the group time to rest.

It also explained that B.A.P only just turned profitable earlier this year, after deducting the costs associated with grooming them and promoting their albums, so there was little profit to share.

However, the sextet said in their statement that they have repeatedly asked the company to provide details of these costs, but have not yet received a satisfactory reply. They said this has eroded their trust in the company.

B.A.P further revealed in its statement that one of its members, Daehyun, was once hospitalised for exhaustion, but their management agency said it would claim damages from him if he did not participate in the scheduled activities, so he got discharged and performed anyway.

B.A.P’s dispute with their management agency came to light after the group collectively sued the company last month, claiming that they had earned over 10 billion won (S$11.8 million) for their management agency, but were only paid a total of about 18 million won (S$21,300) each since they made their debut about three years ago.