SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: It has become increasingly difficult for idols to fulfill their dreams as competition in the industry increases. While popular K-pop labels such as HYBE, SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, and YG Entertainment produce more and more of their own groups, oftentimes, groups that debut under a start-up label or small company are overlooked. Such small and worthless labels use the passion of aspiring idols to become a K-pop star and exploit these trainees under the guise of facilitating their debut.
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Such is the case for a small company called LPA Entertainment, whose CEO Lee Sul is reportedly now being investigated after Korean media leaked messages from the CEO to female trainees from the pre-debut group, AngelRus, under the name. The agency is quite old, founded in 1982 as “Lee Sul Performing Agency” and located in Incheon, South Korea. Reports from August 22 claim that messages from Lee Sul’s phone revealed that the CEO forced female trainees from AngelRus to send him photos/underwear photos so he could be a K-pop idol.
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Who are the artists under LPA Entertainment?
LPA Entertainment is home to NuGus (startup groups) such as Dustin, Holics, I.One and pre-debut group, AngelRus. Management under the label has been quite chaotic over the past few years as Dustin made their debut in 2020 and disbanded by 2021. Holics who debuted under the label in 2016 are said to have also disbanded in 2021. Meanwhile the pre-debut girl The group I.One, which was scheduled to debut with the concepts of ‘girl crush’ and ‘sexy performance’ in 2017, disbanded in 2019 without even debuting.
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Similarly, AngelRus, the latest venture from the label slated to debut in November 2022, was reportedly disbanded by the label in its pre-debut stage. The label also deleted AngelRus’ social media accounts without fans’ knowledge. However, as of March 2022, CEO Lee Sul made claims that Dustin and Holics would both reportedly make a “comeback”.
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LPA Entertainment CEO Lee Sul under investigation
According to recent reports, LPA Entertainment CEO Lee Sul forced the trainees to send pictures of themselves wearing underwear regularly under the pretext of keeping their bodies in check before debut. Since the trainees making their debut in the girl group are quite young, the CEO was accused of harassing young women who aspired to rise in the industry. Korean media reported mobile phone messages of the CEO and an intern, in which Lee Sul asks the intern to “take full-body photos of their front, back and side views every Tuesday,” wearing only their underwear. The CEO was also found asking these trainees to regularly share their body measurements with the threat that debut would not be possible for the trainees if they did not follow these instructions.
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The reports also shared testimony from a former Taiwanese trainer from AngelRus, allegedly named Ulin, who spoke about the process of receiving these humiliating body blows, calling it a “nightmare.” She said: “I was always anxious and afraid that the photos I sent to the executive director would be leaked.” Reports also claim that Lee Sul stated that the reason why the CEO requested the images was to speed up the members’ debut process without delays. Lee Sul supposedly said, “In order to make a debut by maximizing efficiency in a short time, it is important to track self-management, weight management, body size management, etc.” As of now, the police have received a complaint and have launched a large-scale investigation against the CEO.
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