Fantasy Boys agency defends decision to debut band without Yu

Agency Pocketdol Studio said Wednesday that it had tried “multiple times” to secure a contract with Fantasy Boys member Yu Jun-won, and that claims that the agency had forced an agreement were not true.

Yu Jun-won, winner of MBC's audition program ″Fantasy Boys″ [NEWS1]

Agency Pocketdol Studio said Wednesday that it had tried “multiple times” to secure a contract with member Yu Jun-won, and that claims that the agency had forced an agreement were not true.

The agency had announced the same day that Yu, chosen through MBC’s audition program “Fantasy Boys,” would not be joining the boy band despite his top rank on the show. Yu’s parents had demanded that he get a higher cut of the band’s income given his final score, according to the agency.

“Many groups formed through audition programs sign a contract that divides income 50-50, and we have signed such contracts with all other members of Fantasy Boys,” said Pocketdol Studio in a press release. “We tried to respect Yu and his parents’ wishes and go forward with the contract, but they demanded that we divide the income 60-40 in Yu’s favor, and said that Yu would not sign unless this demand was met.”

The agency further argued that they had proof to back up their claim, and that they are doing “all in [their] power” to successfully debut the boy band.

Trainees Kim Gyu-rae, Hong Sung-min, Oh Hyeon-tae, Lee Han-bin, Ling Qi, Kang Min-seo, Hikari, K-Soul, Kim Woo-seok, Hikaru and Kaedan will be debuting without Yu.

"Fantasy Boys" was produced in collaboration with MBC, Phunky Studio, Naver, and Pocketdol Studio, among others. It follows the format of MBC's 2021 girl group audition program "My Teenage Girls," which debuted the seven-member girl group CLASS:y in May 2022.

Fantasy Boys are set to debut in September. An exact date will be announced Friday.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]