"Even with 50 million won in event fees, debts reach hundreds of millions"... The history of K-pop settlement system exposed [★FOCUS]

*This content was translated by AI.

Even after disbandment, even after a long time, the exposure continues.

Behind the dazzling spotlights on stage and the public's cheers, the bitter underside of the K-pop market is being fully revealed through artists' mouths. Debts amounting to hundreds of millions of won, settlement payments converging at zero, and the bitter neglect within agencies. The brutal history hidden behind brilliant glory has once again been put under scrutiny.

The person who recently spoke out is Jung Eun-woo from the girl group Pristin, which suddenly disbanded in 2019, delivering a major shock to fans. Recently, through her SNS, she revealed the painful past of being pushed aside in internal competition at her agency, FNC Entertainment.

Jung Eun-woo said, "I started training as a trainee from middle school 3rd grade and debuted after going through 'Produce 101.' It was a very promising group, so I had high expectations for us." However, she added, "I can't tell everything, but the company had many groups besides us. With so many things to manage, we gradually got pushed aside, and opportunities never came our way," confessing the tragic story of how their disbandment ended in futility.

Nevertheless, she expressed pride in her passionate past, saying, "Looking back now, it was a very valuable and good experience. Even if I could go back, I would have done the same."

Hye-bin from Momo Land, a girl group known as the 'miracle of small agencies' that even secured number one on music shows, exposed the naked truth of the idol settlement system where idols are saddled with debt immediately upon debut.

On the 4th, Hye-bin uploaded a video titled "Why Idols Can't Earn Money" to her personal YouTube channel 'Myo Hye-bin.' That day, she pointed out, "Except for large agencies, most small and medium-sized agencies charge all costs incurred during training—lesson fees, food expenses, accommodation fees—as soon as you debut. It's like a post-payment system, so idols often start their careers with debts of hundreds of millions of won."

She particularly emphasized that even if an idol succeeds after debut, earning money is a separate issue. Hye-bin stated, "Basically, idols split all costs with the company in N shares. Members pay half of song fees amounting to tens of millions of won and music video production costs reaching hundreds of millions of won. They also share expenses for jacket photoshoots, managers' monthly salaries, car payments, fuel costs, etc." She continued, "Even if an event fee is 50 million won, after splitting it with the company, dividing it among members, and deducting various operational costs, only about 2 million won remains per event. And even that gets reinvested in the next music video, so money never actually reaches their bank accounts before being turned back." She lamented this bitter reality.

Senior artists also confessed they were victims of past unreasonable contract structures and settlement systems. Epik High (Tablo, Mithra Jin, DJ Tukutz) published content on their official YouTube channel in May, revealing a secret warehouse that had never been disclosed before.

That day, Tablo expressed anger while pulling out an exclusive contract he signed in 2003 with the startup agency Ulim Entertainment. Looking at the contract from back then, he said, "Because of this damn contract, we received not a single won from music streaming." He added, "I created 'Fly,' yet I received nothing," exposing the shocking fact that despite producing a mega-hit song, his settlement payment was zero.

The same applied to Cya, a vocal group that dominated an era with numerous hit songs. Nam Kyu-ri recently said on a YouTube broadcast, "We have no copyright royalties. We've never received any." He confessed, "Even when people listened to our songs a lot, the structure didn't allow money to come to us. At that time, there wasn't even the music streaming contract structure we have today," evoking sympathy.

Although the idol industry is becoming increasingly sophisticated and dominating global markets, the treatment of artists consumed within it remains an unresolved issue. As these carefully planned exposés, which emerged after a long time, go beyond merely digging up past events, attention from inside and outside the music industry is focused on whether they can serve as substantial nourishment to improve the unreasonable revenue structure and systems of the K-pop world.

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*This content was translated by AI.