Girl Group Star Shocks with Revelation: Agency Installed CCTV in Dorm Shoe Cabinet
Former Laboum member Yujeong has sparked concern and conversation online after revealing disturbing details about how closely her agency monitored the girl group during their early idol years.
During a recent appearance on the popular YouTube channel CONSO, Yujeong shared that CCTV cameras were installed in the group’s dormitory, including one hidden in their shoe cabinet, to track their every move.
Appearing on the show alongside Lovelyz’s Ryu Soo-jung, the two girl group idols reminisced about their early careers, strict rules, and the close friendship that formed between the two groups during overlapping promotion periods. However, as they peeled back the curtain, what started as nostalgia soon turned into a troubling insight into idol life behind the scenes.
One of the most shocking confessions came when Yujeong revealed that Laboum members weren’t allowed to use phones for seven years under their initial contracts. Ryu Soo Jung added that Lovelyz members were banned for about four years, noting that the rules were so strict, they genuinely went without phones the entire time. “They told us not to, so I didn’t,” said Yujeong simply, drawing astonished reactions from the hosts.
The conversation then shifted to dating, where Yujeong confirmed that former Laboum member Yulhee had hidden a burner phone to date FT Island’s Choi Minhwan before eventually getting caught. She later left the group after her premarital marriage announcement in 2017. “She tucked the phone under her pillow or something like that,” one of the hosts commented, referencing the lengths idols had to go to just to live a normal life.
But it was Yujeong’s next revelation that stunned everyone. “Back then, there weren’t even official clauses banning relationships,” she said. “But the company was so strict. They even had CCTV cameras in the dorm’s shoe cabinet to monitor whether we were going out or not. I remember once, during our first year, I went out just to get some bubble tea, and they immediately called me in to interrogate me, ‘Where did you go?’ That’s how closely we were watched.”
The hosts and Ryu Soo Jung were visibly shocked, with one noting how such extreme measures would be considered completely unacceptable in the current K-pop landscape. “That kind of thing wouldn’t fly these days,” Soo-jung agreed.
The episode has since gone viral, sparking widespread discussions about idol treatment and the invasive monitoring practices used by entertainment agencies, especially in the earlier generations of K-pop.
With more and more idols now speaking out about their past experiences, Yujeong’s candid revelations add to a growing chorus of former stars pulling back the curtain on the darker side of the industry, one that many fans never get to see.
