On the morning of November 23, MADEIN’s agency, 143 Entertainment, dismissed the allegations as “completely groundless.”
The controversy began on November 22 when JTBC’s “Incident Manager” aired shocking claims that the CEO of a rookie girl group’s agency had sexually harassed one of its members.
The victim alleged that the CEO used threats to pressure her into unwanted physical contact and inappropriate demands. In an audio recording, she revealed that he asked her to be his “girlfriend for a day” in exchange for allowing her to continue her promotions. The victim further described being forcibly kissed and licked, enduring inappropriate comments about touching her body, and facing his persistence for two hours despite her repeated objections.
According to “Incident Manager”, the girl group involved debuted in September of this year, and the victimized member has reportedly halted her activities due to a rapid decline in health.
Speculation online pointed to MADEIN as the group in question, given that they debuted in September and member Gaeun recently announced her hiatus.
As the controversy spread, 143 Entertainment issued a statement denying all allegations.
Below is the official statement from 143 Entertainment:
This is 143 Entertainment.
We would like to share our official position regarding the issue reported on JTBC’s “Incident Manager” yesterday.
AdvertisementFirst, we firmly state that there was no sexual harassment or any other form of sexual contact involving coercion between the mentioned member and the CEO. The reported claims are not true.
Furthermore, regarding the member’s hotel-related activities, we clarify that it was a gathering with acquaintances in a group setting.
The reported content is based on misrepresentations by individuals other than the member involved, and we reiterate that these allegations are entirely baseless.
We sincerely apologize for the concern caused by this unexpected and unfortunate situation.
Source: Nate
