Name: Where Are the Former Fifty Fifty Members Now?! (August 2024 Update)
Uploaded: 2024-08-13T04:47:16.000Z
Duration: 9 min 34 s
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Since suing their former agency Attract, the three former 5050 members have faced one setback after another.

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They've been apparently blacklisted in the industry, shunned by the Korean public, and now they face a massive debt due to the damages they caused.

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With this latest development, they might even need to start looking for new jobs. 5050's and the Givers' legal battle with Attract began all the way back in June 2023, when the latter made vague claims that an external agency was trying to poach the members and spreading false rumors about them.

The company got more specific a few days later, as they shocked everyone by filing a criminal complaint against the Givers' CEO Ahn Seung-gil.

They accused him of illegally obtaining the copyright for the song Cupid, and alleged that he was involved in various activities that harmed the company such as obstructing business operations, committing fraud, breaching trust, and messing with project data and company accounts.

The drama only got deeper when a few days later, it was reported that the four members of 5050 had asked for a provisional injunction to suspend their exclusive contract with Attract.

The four members cited harm to their reputation and unpaid wages as reasons for their request.

According to their legal team, despite trying to address these issues with Attract, the company only made public statements that further damaged the group's reputation by suggesting the members were manipulated into signing with Warner Music Korea.

Attract were also accused of not addressing the contract issues properly and ignoring the members' concerns.

Attract's actions were described as an extortion attempt, and it was also revealed that a member had gone under surgery without prior consultation.

This situation apparently led to frustration and disappointment among the members, who felt that Attract failed to meet its contractual obligations and address health-related performance issues, so they made the decision to act together and ask Attract to stop harming their reputation.

This was the start of a year-long legal battle that has yet to end, with accusations thrown from both sides.

The members came out and pointed the finger at Attract for neglecting them and their health, while Attract said that the Givers and Ahn Seung-gil were manipulating the members and asked for them to come back.

Even the parents got involved at some point, so just when you thought the situation couldn't get any messier, it did.

Kina ended up going back to Attract and is now preparing to re-debut with four new members by her side with huge support from the public, so where does that leave Aaron, Seo, and Se-na?

The latest update about the three former members tells us that they're in big trouble though, and it has all to do with the lawsuit that Attract filed against after the members refused to go back to the company.

In December 2023, the company filed a $13 billion lawsuit for breach of contract against the three former members, their parents, and the Givers executives, including CEO Ahn Seung-gil.

Attract noted that the damages and penalty fees could amount to hundreds of billions of won but decided to seek a partial payment of $13 billion won initially as they expected further increases in damages.

Netizens applauded the decision, with one of them commenting from the representative's point of view, he gave them so much opportunity, now they have to go with the law.

While Kina represented the group at the Billboard Music Awards and the Golden Disc Awards in Korea and Attract's CEO Jun Hong-ju was cleared of embezzlement charges, the situation worsened for the other three members and the Givers.

In February, Attract announced that Seung-gil had been sent to prosecution for allegedly trying to poach the members.

Attract also had a big win by securing the trademark rights for the group name 5050 not just in Korea but in 30 other countries as well, something that parents of the members had attempted to do previously.

By far, their biggest win has been securing a court order on April 24th to freeze 1 billion won in assets belonging to the Givers.

The asset freeze is meant to ensure there are funds available if Attract wins the lawsuit and Sojong Law Firm, the legal representatives of the company, made sure to highlight that this step is necessary to make sure they can collect any damages awarded in the future.

This is important to note as it's related to recent reports that the court accepted Attract's request to freeze the bank accounts of the Givers' co-CEOs Kwon Jae-seon and Ahn Seung-gil, which means that the money in their accounts is going to be seized and they can only use cash.

The report also covers the freezing of 12 billion won from their bank accounts plus an additional 10 billion won in bonds.

The total amount still owed by the three members and the Givers hasn't been determined yet, but what's known is that until the debt is fully paid, any remaining funds of Ahn Seung-gil and the three former 5050 members will be confiscated.

How this works is that the girls and their parents will be like rent and food, but any extra money has to go toward paying off the debt.

This will continue until they pay off the whole sum.

The news surprised many netizens who felt that the harsh consequences were necessary for everyone involved to understand the seriousness of their actions.

Despite the severity, they believed it was needed to make them realize their mistakes.

A user wrote, Those contracts are there for a reason.

You're not going to get out of them just because you want to and making up lies is bound to be found out in court.

Some people also noted that the members and their parents had multiple chances to accept Attract's offer, just like Kina did, but they chose not to.

Kina and her parents had also tried to warn the parents and the members of the Givers' intentions, but their thoughts weren't even considered, especially by the girls' parents.

If you remember, along with her bombshell interview, Dispatch shared a text from Kina sent to the former members three months into the situation.

In the message, Kina expressed her concerns about waiting and trusting an uncertain future.

She explained that the members had minimal Attract.

In her texts, Kina appears worried that by avoiding negotiations, Attract could manipulate the media and brand them as traitor idols.

She also felt unsure since they avoided talks without hearing the other side, especially after their injunction was denied.

In her texts, Kina regretted not meeting with Attract earlier and questioned if their efforts were pointless, acknowledging that their stance might have been against what many consider fair.

Then, in October of last year, controversial YouTuber Lee Jin-ho released a phone call recording between Ahn Seung-gil and Kina's father.

The call suggested that Kina's parents were misled into thinking Attract CEO Jeon Hong-joon was the bad guy in this case.

Seung-gil assured Kina's father that the lawsuit against Attract was strong and even implied that Joon might face criminal charges.

Her father initially trusted Seung-gil to shield the girls from any financial issues related to Joon's investments, but after discovering that Ahn Seung-gil was actually the one who was trying to and signatures, Kina's father began recording their conversations due to his suspicion.

According to Lee Jin-ho, Kina and her parents then tried to convince the other members to drop the lawsuit and return to Attract because they figured out that he was lying.

He also shared some comments that were supposedly written by Kina's mother.

In these comments, she thanked CEO Joon for his support and mentioned that only Kina's father knew about the lawsuit, implying it was filed without her consent or knowledge.

This indicates that Kina and her to Attract, and when that didn't succeed, Kina went back by herself.

Not only that, but when Kina went back, she was welcomed with open arms.

Sources say she got her first big payment once she returned to Attract, which was expected to be between five and seven figures in US dollars.

Most importantly, she managed to avoid the lawsuit that the group faced, only having to cover the litigation costs.

The other members might have avoided the lawsuit too if they had joined her when she and her parents tried to show them what was actually going on.

CEO Joon had really wanted them back, so it's possible everything would have been overlooked and forgiven if they had agreed to return.

Now that the group has to settle all their debts, the question that remains is what comes next for them.

Initially, the members had plans to return as idols in one way or another.

The fan club Fight For Fifi shared on social media that they had reached out to the former members' legal team and in response, the team said that the girls were focusing on their health and practicing while looking for a new agency.

They appeared hopeful about becoming influential artists through their music as they were working hard to return to their fans soon.

In the end, the fans were asked to keep their support and patience as the process continued.

However, with recent developments, it seems like the dream of debuting once again is further away.

Since the amount they have to pay is way too much for a normal person, netizens think that the members are going to have to get normal jobs to help with the debt.

Being an idol is out of the question because even if they managed to join a different company, then the trainee debt would add to their existing one and then it would indeed be too much.

So there's not much left to do for the members except for getting jobs that don't require a diploma and it wouldn't be a first for idols to do so.

For example, singer Hwang Chi Yeol revealed that after his debut failed, he was faced with really hard times financially and was left with debt so he started working as a vocal coach for idols to earn more money.

Similarly, Daisy from Mommaland had a part-time job as a translator during her active years as an idol just so she could pay off the ridiculous debt she had as a trainee.

Elris' Yuk Young also worked part-time at a restaurant which was widely believed to have been because of her trainee debt, even controversial actress Kim Saeran was seen working as a bartender to pay the legal fees and the damages caused by her DUI scandal.

Based on these cases, it seems like a similar fate awaits the 50 50 members as well.

It's likely that they will either land regular jobs or launch YouTube and Twitch channels to keep themselves afloat.

Some even suggested filing for bankruptcy to get out Paying off 13 billion won is a huge challenge, so they will need to work really hard to manage it.

There are also people who believe that the punishment doesn't really fit the crime.

In their opinion, both the girls and the parents made a stupid mistake, but 13 billion won seems too harsh.

They also argued that the girls were already made into an example of what happens when you're too greedy, but that the company should drop the lawsuit and let them live their normal lives.

It's not like they can get back into the industry in one way or another, and for the girls, that's likely the biggest punishment.

 This feud has a lot of twists and turns and is not even close to ending, especially since the first trial is on August 29th, so make sure to tune in again soon.