Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
After a bunch of posturing by both sides last time, it appears both Soul Shop Entertainment and Gilgun have stepped things up a bit.
For starters, Soul Shop released the CCTV footage of Gilgun and Kim Tae Woo, and they also made a statement with five points about the dispute.
1. Kil Gun’s legal problems discovered only after a contract was signed
Soul Shop says they gave her over $12,000 to settle a legal issue with her previous agency.
2. Amount of money paid to Kil Gun
Soul Shop says that they paid Gilgun a $20,000 contract fee and $10,000 lifestyle fee in July 2013, and then six months later paid the $12,000 to settle with her previous agency.
3. Kil Gun’s false statements with regards to account settlement
The financial settlement required by Soul Shop was $42,000 plus $7,500 in training fees.
That’s when Gilgun met with Kim Aeri to finalize the settlement and where events went south.
The director met with her and explained to Kil Gun the process of the account settlement and requested for a confirmation and a signature. However Kil Gun responded by verbally assaulting the director, saying, “Fuck why do I have to talk about these things with you.” Along with the verbal assault, Kil Gun threw the settlement papers away and traumatized Kim Aeri, the wife of Kim Tae Woo, who she claimed was her “friend.”
Soul Shop claims Kim Aeri was hospitalized out of shock with stomach spasms due to the incident, and that the settlement was finalized later.
4. Kil Gun’s lack of qualifications she showed at All Shook Up public auditions
On the company’s recommendation, Gilgun auditioned for the ‘All Shook Up‘ musical that Megan Lee was supposed to be in, but that Gilgun showed a lack of professionalism.
When she found out that she had not been selected from the audition, she raised her voice saying, “I’m not even a rookie, but you made me put a name tag on and audition publicly in front of people. Why did you make me audition when there was such short amount of time for practice.” We believe this mindset is not fitting of a singer. If any singer wants to be a part of a musical, we believe that it is proper protocol for them to audition. If she does not agree, then she must explain why she could not show us even the most basic qualities of a singer in her audition on September 1st.
5. Continued verbal assault and threats from Kil Gun
Soul Shop says Gilgun was not ready to debut under their company, but she kept harassing Kim Tae Woo to debut.
“Why do you keep changing your words and postponing my album release. Since I cannot work due to having no album release, pay me a salary of 3 million won per month in advance.” Kim Tae Woo answered that such a thing would have to be done through the company, not personally, and Kil Gun began to verbally assault and threaten him. When an artist is not ready, album release dates can always change. Kil Gun was not ready and the company decided that she needed more time.
Then the CCTV video comes into play.
On October 13th, she met Kim Tae Woo at the 4th floor recording room of the company. During the meeting, Kim Tae Woo said it is going to be difficult to release the album within 2014 and said that they should prepare more and aim for a release in February 2015. Kil Gun than requested an advance payment of 3 million won and when Kim Tae Woo replied that the company will not be able to pay her in advance anymore, she began to swear at Kim Tae Woo saying “Ssibal,” screaming, and even throwing her cellphone at the recording apparatus. This event is evident in the CCTV footage. Kil Gun did not appear as someone who was seeking help. However, she is twisting the truth and victimizing herself.
The fact that she even recorded a phone conversation between her and Kim Tae Woo, whom she claims is her friend can only mean that she was preparing to take legal action against the court in order to avoid settling the contract fee, as well as the other investments the company has made for her. She also threatened the company, saying there are two ways she could make the company burn, “Coming to the company and taking drugs to commit suicide or committing suicide and mentioning the company in her suicide note.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP0hHPGkyVI
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After such a thorough statement by Soul Shop, Gilgun responded at a press conference.
In relation to the lesson payments and accusations that she did not have the right mentality:
“I will answer to the contents addressed in Soul Shop’s press release. Before the change in management of Soul Shop, there was no problem at all. However, once the management changed, things changed, even my lessons. I couldn’t receive lessons, and the lesson fees were supposed to be half-paid by me. However, it ended up that I just had to pay for all of it. How could I manage? Also, I wasn’t making any money and instead the interest was amounting on the money I had to pay back, so in that kind of situation, how could I be lazy and not work hard? It makes no sense.”
In relation to Soul Shop having to pay off her contract with her previous agency:
“Soul Shop and Kim Tae Woo knew about my situation. Kim Tae Woo was the one who tole me ‘we will take care of you’, and he event sent me a text message of support to give me strength.”
“Soul Shop insists that they helped me in my singing career and life, but they had constantly reminded me about my debt [to the agency] after the change in management. We held a few meetings, and every meeting would basically be asking me when I was going to repay my debt. Every time I would tell them that I would need work in order to pay them back; I never asked them to pay me in advance like they’re insisting and they did not help me with my life.”
In relation to Kim Aeri, Gilgun said she was the abusive one, not the victim:
Gilgun also revealed that Kim Tae Woo’s wife would belittle her with words, saying things like, “Gilgun don’t you have any money? Is this all you’re capable of?”
She said with tears, “I was so shocked that day and I cried. I told her it’s not that, it’s that I need to work in order to repay them. I said I’m a person who repays her debt, so to give me whatever work there is to do. I was so embarrassed and had tears in my eyes, but even when I was in such a state, she handed me financial documents telling me to sign them.”
In relation to the CCTV video, Gilgun admits to cursing, but denies threats to commit suicide and says they should all take a lie detector test:
She admitted that she did curse at them at times, but it was only because she had felt stabbed in the back by people she had considered her friends. She also denied making threats about committing suicide, saying that she only asked them to help her live. She then urged Soul Shop to undergo a lie detector test with her to show the public who is the one lying.
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So yeah, that happened.
Who’s right, who’s wrong? I honestly have no idea.
The CCTV video is the only evidence we’re seen so far, so that seems to add credibility on at least one Soul Shop point, but if what Gilgun says is true, then a mental breakdown wouldn’t be ridiculous, and she has Megan Lee on record as basically saying the same thing about Kim Aeri and the shady management.
