#excgoeun

[BREAKING] Goeun settles lawsuits with BC Entertainment, BC Entertainment responds

In December of 2017, Jung Goeun announced her departure from Lipstick and, not long after, the former member proceeded to file a lawsuit against her company, citing unfair contract conditions that contributed to neglect of her physical and mental health. Shortly after, BC Entertainment counter-sued for defamation and violation of their exclusive contract. Both parties have been quiet about the court-ordered mediation sessions between the company’s legal representatives and the idol’s legal representatives which all reportedly ended with no progress made.

On July 7 at 11AM KST, it was announced that the legal dispute had finally recently reached a settlement. The settlement determined former Lipstick member Goeun’s contract with the company is still valid and she is required to remain under the company for the remaining duration of her contract barring any valid violations by BC Entertainment.

A BC Entertainment legal representative released a statement that night stating, “Further details of the case cannot be discussed publicly, but Jung Goeun will remain exclusively contracted under BC Entertainment as she is legally contracted to. She will not be rejoining Lipstick as her leave was already previously agreed upon by both parties. BC Entertainment’s pending lawsuits against her have also been dropped, which were made in defense of BC Entertainment and their many artists that were hurt by her defamatory words, in an effort to reconcile with her.”

Despite this, not long after the news broke, sources allegedly close to BC Entertainment surfaced claiming that Jung Goeun had still been requested to pay a compensation penalty for violating several other terms of her contract shortly after the decision was announced with the threat of further legal action should she refuse. When asked for a statement, BC Entertainment representatives only responded by stating they will take legal action against malicious comments about their artists and the company.

Similar insiders have given mixed reports on plans for Goeun’s career from here onward, with some reporting that she will be switched to management under BC’s actor sub-label, while others claim that there do not seem to be immediate plans for Goeun to continue an active celebrity career at all for the duration of her remaining contract under BC Entertainment. BC Entertainment representatives are not answering calls at this time to verify how true those rumors are.

COMMENTS

[+4,125, -624] well she’s married and betrayed her fans by not telling them first. she doesn’t have a chance for a career whether she wants one or not now.

[+3,031, -297] she’s pretty and talented but honestly, aren’t the lead vocals of lipstick pretty and talented too? bc has good enough vocal training that leads are as good as other companies’ main vocals and now they got a chance to shine instead of being in her shadow

[+1,302, -229] seriously? bc settles to look good and then expects her to pay them anyway? is that legal?

[+1,147, -188] haven’t lipstick’s songs done better without her anyway?

[+705, -196] bc is so dirty. it’s shameful anyone is believing their side of the story.

[+534, -172] if goeun didn’t have any validity to her side, bc wouldn’t have had to settle.

[+512, -184] she used their money to get to the top and then tried to get out. she tried to complain like she didn’t know what she was signing up for and bc put her in her place.

[+322, -70] what is bc doing?

[+315, -12] so what was that situation with her meeting up with bang sunyoung?

[+47, -29] this comes out days before knight’s comebacks. is goeun trying to ruin knight too?

Since Lipstick’s former main vocal Jung Goeun announced her departure from the group at the beginning of December, news around the situation has been suspiciously quiet. A lack of statements from either party since the news broke left many to speculate about what’s going on behind the scenes. Various inside sources have leaked conflicting information, with some saying Goeun was kicked out by BC Entertainment after they found out about her marriage and others saying the company is trying desperately to convince her to pursue a solo music career under them due to her notoriety and the drop in their stocks since early December.

Yesterday evening at 6PM KST, BC Entertainment cleared up that Jung Goeun remains legally under contract with them and that “discussion with her regarding her future under BC Entertainment has been underway”. Shortly after, Jung Goeun confirmed she had filed for a lawsuit for termination of her contract and its termination fine due to unfair contract provisions and rights violations. BC Entertainment’s stock fell nearly 10% in the aftermath of the news. Some sources say the announcement may have been strategic by Goeun to affect the company’s finances once their stocks had begun to recover from her initial departure announcement. BC Entertainment has already lost several billion won in the past three months due to recent events involving Goeun.

This morning, Goeun was interviewed by a news channel, where she stated she felt she had no other choice but to leave Lipstick, as the company violated her rights and neglected her health. She refused to comment on whether she plans to pursue a further career in the entertainment industry, leading some to believe she’s searching for another company to sign under. Later, it was confirmed BC Entertainment has filed counter lawsuits against the former Lipstick member, citing defamation of the company and violation of her contract.

COMMENTS

[+1,124, -496] if i was bc, i wouldn’t let goeun go so easily either

[+1,073, -255] bc’s mad because this means they have one fewer likeable idol 

[+911, -363] i was on goeun’s side but if she waited until she’d hurt their stocks the most, she just seems spiteful

[+827, -389] heol… this could be the downfall of bc. i hope dimensions and gold star are watching. this is their chance to take bc’s place at the top.

[+670, -82] bc sent most of their artists to japan in february to keep them out of this like a fighting married couple sending their kids to stay with their grandparents ㅋㅋ

[+468, -129] why would she care about a solo when all of her old group members are getting solos and she can have that under any company?

[+231, -150] a few billion won is nothing to bc. knight must make that much for them in a week. 

At 8AM KST on December 1st, BC Entertainment released a statement reading: 

“BC Entertainment and its associates are sad to announce the departure of Jung Goeun from Lipstick due to declining vocal health. We care deeply about the well-being of our artists and upon doctor recommendation, BC Entertainment and Goeun have jointly decided that she will no longer promote as a member of Lipstick. The group will continue to promote with six members.”

Several hours after BC Entertainment released their statement, at 2:45PM KST, Jung Goeun uploaded a statement to her Instagram that read: 

“Hello, this is Jung Goeun. My departure from Lipstick was announced this morning earlier than I had anticipated, and I had not had time to write a statement yet, but I wanted to share my true feelings. I apologize to any fans who were worried as they waited to hear from me. I joined BC Entertainment as a trainee in 2007 before debuting in 2012, and after ten years with the company, I’ve decided that I wish to prematurely terminate my contract. BC Entertainment’s statement that I have privately dealt with health issues with my vocal cords for a few years now is true, but furthermore, I personally feel that remaining under BC Entertainment in any other capacity, as an actress or model, would have further jeopardized both my mental and physical health, which have been pushed to their limits since even before my debut. There is not much else I can say at this time, but I would like to thank the fans who have supported me and continue to support me. It breaks my heart to no longer be in a group with such amazing fans, but I do not take this decision lightly.

I’m also happy to announce my marriage, which was finalized two months ago without a ceremony.”

Inside sources say that both BC Entertainment and Jung Goeun’s statements only brush the surface of the issue and that Goeun plan to file a formal lawsuit against the company to void both her contract and the rumored 10 billion won early termination fine.

COMMENTS

[+1,235, -470] why would they announce this now? hasn’t bc gotten enough bad press lately?

[+1,107, -421] my bets are on bc kicking her out because she got married. no way they approved that.

[+900, -508] it sounds like it wasn’t as clean of a break as bc said. can’t wait for this drama.

[+682, -488] they left her out of the group’s sub-unit even though she was the best singer. i don’t blame her for leaving.

[+472, -213] if you can’t handle being paid just to wear designer clothes and look pretty, you shouldn’t be an idol anyway

[+365, -304] so she’s not going to say who she married? i know it’s going to be an average-looking rich man fifteen years older than her, but i’d like to see her take an idol away from their precious fan girls. 

[+120, - 190] she always seemed stuck up. lipstick will be better off without her.

[+23, -158] guess this means no lipstick comeback for a while

The months since Jung Goeun publicly announced her departure from Lipstick last December have been fraught with many questions and few answers. Although the former main vocal is no longer a member of her previous group, evident by merchandise and advertisements featuring Lipstick’s seven member lineup disappearing or being replaced with six member versions in recent months, the singer is still in a lawsuit with BC Entertainment, who claims she has no legal grounds to state she is no longer under the company.

Public appearances by Goeun have been rare since she announced her marriage and exit from Lipstick. Some say the former girl group member is being systematically blacklisted in the industry by BC Entertainment, although such accusations are only rumors at this point.

Exclusive has obtained previously unseen pictures of Jung Goeun meeting with Gold Star Media CEO Bang Sunyoung several times throughout the beginning of the year, as well as some only weeks before Goeun announced she would be leaving her group. While it’s unclear what the true purpose of these meetings has been, some sources who knew about the meetings state suspicions the Gold Star Media CEO may be courting Goeun for her own company. Even further, some are suspicious Bang Sunyoung herself may have encouraged Goeun to leave her group.

When asked for comment, a BC Entertainment representative stated: “Jung Goeun is still signed under an exclusive contract with BC Entertainment. Any attempts by any company to create a new contract with her would be blatantly unlawful. Despite the regrettable circumstances surrounding Goeun recently, she is aware of the conditions of her contract and BC Entertainment has no reason to believe she would purposefully seek to break them further until her legal case has ended.”

A Gold Star Media representative refused to comment.

Despite recent displays of comraderie between BC Entertainment and Gold Star Media (as well as Dimensions Entertainment) with their Hallyu Triple Fantasy Concerts, could this be the beginning of the end of the companies’ cooperative efforts?

COMMENTS

[+989, -427] bang sunyoung is known for having a lot of industry connections. i think it makes more sense that they’re friendly with each other. even bang sunyoung knows not to mess with bc when they’re willing to pay the press to say anything

[+722, -570] she saw gold star would be the new top company and jumped ship ㅋ

[+700, -123] should’ve talked to dimensions’ new creative director instead... she would have called off her wedding ㅋㅋㅋ

[+556, -240] if they were friends, we would have known sooner. they’re clearly trying to cover something up.

[+493, -199] bang sunyoung, please talk to the bee members

[+355, -297] both of them always looked like foxes to me

[+350, -168] dimensions is the one known for stealing bc’s acts to profit off of their popularity. bang sunyoung has more class than that.

[+302, -264] gold star will have enough to buy out the whole of bc before long. bc has their obsessive fans, but gold star has the general public with their girl groups

[+104, -101] lipstick is stronger as six! traitor goeun will regret it once they come back better than ever