Japanese Trainee Goes Missing Before Debut, Sent for Fraud Charges After Investigation—Losses Total 57 Million Won

“Planned disappearance” two months before debut… A malicious double contract targeting the K-pop system

A cunning pattern of crime that exploits K-pop’s global status and systematic training system has come to light. A man in his 20s, a Japanese trainee who vanished suddenly just before his debut and caused major financial damage to his agency, is now set to face the judgment of law enforcement authorities.

According to police and legal circles on the 4th, the Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul referred Japanese trainee A (29), who faces fraud charges, for non-custodial prosecution on the 29th of last month. Investigators said they issued an exit ban to A, considering the seriousness of the case and the risk of flight. They also confirmed that he is currently staying in the country and awaiting a prosecutor’s investigation.

The case unfolded like this: in December of last year, just two months before the debut of a six-member boy group, A disappeared, leaving only a one-sided message that “the trust relationship has collapsed.” At that point, the group had already completed filming its music video and even made the members’ faces and the songs available to the public. Because the group’s key member left irresponsibly, the act was forced to reorganize into a five-member lineup and carry out its debut schedule.

What initially looked like a change of heart was found, based on the agency’s own investigation, to be a deceptive act carried out through a carefully planned double contract. It was revealed that A secretly signed a contract with another talent agency while keeping his exclusive contract with his current agency. The situation is even more serious because this wasn’t the first time. The victim agency said, “A previously cut off contact and disappeared using the same method at an earlier agency,” adding, “After enjoying training benefits with the capital of a Korean agency, he has repeated a malicious eat-and-run scheme in which he flees to Japan when the time for full-scale activities approaches.”

As a result of this incident, the agency has taken on total financial losses of 57.43 million won. This figure sums up all major investment costs poured into A as an individual, including vocal and dance training expenses, music production costs, music video filming costs, and lodging and meals. Legal circles and the music industry are focusing their attention on the deceptive conduct of a foreign trainee that is shaking the very foundation of the K-pop industry.