FIFTY FIFTY’s agency ATTRAKT loses defamation lawsuit over SBS documentary on group’s contract dispute; here’s all we know

The Seoul Southern District Court has ruled in opposition to Jeon Hong Joon, CEO of the leisure designate ATTRAKT. The case fervent a excessive-profile defamation lawsuit in opposition to the investigative tv program Unanswered Questions. The lawsuit stemmed from a 2023 broadcast that delved into the within fallout between the company and its weak girl community, FIFTY FIFTY.

The court docket concluded that the SBS program’s file aired in August 2023 did no longer violate defamation laws. As an replacement, it realized that the guidelines equipped in the episode became once either demonstrably pleasing or reasonably derived from verified sources and knowledgeable interpretation. Which skill that, the court docket brushed off Jeon’s claim for roughly 220,000 USD in damages and ordered ATTRAKT to duvet all compatible charges incurred.

The episode in request, titled ‘Billboard and Girl Groups – Who Clipped Their Wings?’, explored the sudden fracture in the relationship between ATTRAKT and FIFTY FIFTY. The community had made waves internationally after their breakout single Cupid maintained a local on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for over 21 weeks. The published attracted foremost consideration for its in-depth exploration of what went dreadful in the relief of the scenes at some stage in the community’s surprising upward push to standing.

Central to the program were testimonies from weak workers members, the members’ americans, and alternate experts. Numerous whom painted a troubling picture of the company’s inside atmosphere. Interviewees described an absence of transparency in financial dealings and absentee management at some stage in valuable coaching phases.

They furthermore reported incidents where food brought by family became once allegedly thrown away without clarification. Based mostly on the families, these occurrences contributed to the psychological and emotional pressure experienced by the idols. Though ATTRAKT publicly rejected these allegations and maintained they were baseless, the court docket realized credibility in the episode’s claims.

A key aspect became once the program’s reference to missing revenue in financial settlement paperwork, an field the company later admitted had took place. Moreover, the court docket acknowledged that the published relied no longer handiest on deepest accounts nonetheless furthermore on assessments by tax consultants, tutorial figures, and governmental recordsdata. All these added weight to the producers’ protection.

As well to, the court docket criticized the company’s unwillingness to interact with the manufacturing crew. They well-known that bigger than ten formal interview requests were made to Jeon and his representatives, all of that dangle been declined. This lack of response weakened the argument that the program did now not recent a balanced inquire of.

In a noteworthy comment, “A lack of plump equity or balance in a broadcast on my own would now not constitute defamation,” the ruling mentioned.

Earlier in March 2024, South Korea’s broadcasting watchdog, the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC), issued an first rate warning to SBS. This followed the airing of the controversial episode. Over 1,100 viewers had submitted complaints, essentially questioning the equity and tone of the coverage. On the other hand, the warning did no longer raise compatible consequences, and the program has remained on air without additional sanction.