Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Former members of TRCNG, Wooseop and Taeheon, recently filed for contract termination and also filed suit against TS Entertainment for child abuse among other things. The company denied and then later revealed the group would continue without them. Now Dispatch has revealed the duo’s evidence against the company, which is long.
For starters, they talked about living conditions.
8 members lived in two rooms on the ground floor, while the remaining two members lived in the attic. Wooyeop shared, “The attic is like a storage room. The ceiling was so low that we couldn’t stand straight. It didn’t have proper heating, and we lived jumbled up with our stuff and equipment.” The members bought their own clothes and ate food they bought from the convenience store. The company paid for their meals when they had late-night practices, and the menu was always fried rice for everyone. Taeseon was once taken to the emergency room due to a stomachache. He added, “We once arrived at the practice room with coffee, and they got mad as us, saying, ‘Where are our drinks?’ We were scolded for having no manners. We brought coffee for the agency employees after that.” TRCNG’s dorm had its water and electricity cut off because TS had not paid the bills. In April and October of 2019, the electricity went down at the dorm. Wooyeop further described, “In January 2018, we couldn’t use our water heater. Four or five members got the flu. We had to go to a sauna to sleep and wash up. We were promoting our second album, but we endured and performed on stage. We used our own money to take care of the hospital expenses.” TRCNG’s dorm had two toilets for the ten members, and one of the toilets broke down in December 2017, January 2018, and February 2019. When a member texted an agency staff to ask for someone to fix the toilet, he got no response. Wooyeop’s mother called a plumber and paid for the expenses herself. On January 7, 15, and 21 of 2019, the lights in their laundry room and kitchen went out. Taeseon texted to his manager, “Hyung. We’re living in the dark because our lights aren’t working,” and his manager responded, “Ah, hahaha, right, the lights. Hahaha. I have to go to the neighborhood of Hannam on Thursday so I’ll get it changed for you then.” However, the manager did not show up as he had promised.
Said conditions were documented through texts convos between the group members’ mothers, where they even bought an air conditioner themselves.
Dispatch revealed a group chatroom conversation between the TRCNG members’ mothers, who discussed the poor living conditions at the group’s dorm during the summer. They commented on the broken water purifier and air conditioner and discussed gathering money to buy them new ones. The mothers pitched in to install a new air conditioner at TRCNG’s dorm.
So that is terrible in itself, but the assault aspect of this is what is understandably making headlines. Wooseop was allegedly assaulted by a steel chair with members as witnesses, and they provided a text convo with the TSE director.
TS: Who are the three members not participating [in the live broadcast]?
Taeseon: Wooyeop, Hohyun, and Kangmin.
Taeseon: Director, we’re starting!
TS: F*ck. Did I tell you to start? You crazy bastards.
TS: F*ck, who told you to turn it on?
TS: These crazy bastards are [notifying me afterwards]. No more guerrillas now, keep that in mind.
TS: Where did you learn your manners, f*ck, seriously. Can’t you wait for five minutes while I’m in the restroom?
Taeseon: Director, you told me to just send you a KakaoTalk message before starting, so I think I misunderstood.
Taeseon: I’m sorry.
Furthermore, they say they were asked by agency staff to go to adult entertainment facilities, as well as help staff sell shoes.
In the beginning of the year, a TRCNG member born in 2001 was asked by one of the agency staff to go to a room salon (adult entertainment business) with him. The TRCNG member told the other members through their group chatroom, “I’m watching [someone] rap in the recording studio, and [name not mentioned] hyung told me, ‘You’re 20, right? Come to a room salon with me.’ There was even a woman [in the studio]. How could he ask me to go to a room salon with him?” One of the TS Entertainment officials made TRCNG and their dance team help him sell the Air Jordan shoes he had collected by looking up the prices, placing post-its on the shoe boxes, and taking photos of the shoes.
The birth year would make the member either 17 or 18 at the time.
The report concluded by detailing their debt and their contract, which is part of the reason they likely mentioned the amount of time it took to get albums released.
The total expenses incurred by the group from January 2011 to June 2018 were approximately 1.6 billion won (approximately $1.4 million). They earned a profit of 269 million won (approximately $230,700), meaning that the group has a debt of approximately 1.4 billion won (approximately $1.2 million). TRCNG and TS Entertainment’s exclusive contract is valid for nine years starting from the release of their first album, and their profits are divided between the agency and the group with a ratio of 9:1. Starting with their third full album, the ratio changes to 8:2. The ratio is 7:3 for commercials and events. The amount that is given to the group is then divided among the 10 members.
Not much to say, honestly. It’s all rather self-explanatory at this point when one side appears to have detailed evidence and the other is a shitty company with a history of stuff like this just asking you to trust them.
