Agency for The Boyz rejects members' contract termination, but performers' lawyer disagrees

Agency One Hundred Label rejected The Boyz members’ request to terminate their exclusive contracts on Thursday, after all but one sent a legal notice to CEO Cha Ga-won on Feb. 10.

Boy band The Boyz [ONE HUNDRED LABEL]

Agency One Hundred Label rejected The Boyz members’ request to terminate their exclusive contracts on Thursday, after all but one sent a legal notice to CEO Cha Ga-won on Feb. 10.

Member New has decided to stay with the agency, reportedly due to personal reasons.

The agency said that it signed with The Boyz in late 2024 under the agreement that all 11 members would continue activities as a whole throughout the contract period. At the time, each member was given “a large signing fee.”

However, the band has been unable to go forth with normal activities after member Ju Hak-nyeon was booted from the band last year, when he was accused of engaging in prostitution. Police have since cleared Ju of the allegations.

“Despite this, the company has worked to maintain the band by persuading affected partners and absorbing significant losses,” the agency said, adding that it cannot accept the nine members’ request to terminate their contracts.

However, the legal representative of the nine members — Sangyeon, Jacob, Younghoon, Hyunjae, Juyeon, Kevin, Q, Sunwoo and Eric — followed up with a statement the same day saying that their contracts have been “lawfully terminated” and were “no longer in effect.”

Boy band The Boyz [ONE HUNDRED LABEL]

The band has not received proper settlement payments for any activities since July 2025, according to attorney Kim Mun-hui at the law firm Yulchon, adding that the agency also failed to pay on-site staff for months.

“The artists have had to endure immense psychological distress and pressure,” Kim said. “Ultimately, the artists reached the conclusion that the situation could no longer be tolerated or sustained, and that the mutual trust between the two parties had irreparably broken down.”

Regarding New’s decision to maintain his contract, the members “respect” his choice and “the band will continue to explore various options and cooperate to find the best path forward for the team and fans,” Kim added, also confirming that The Boyz will go forth with concerts scheduled to take place in April.

The dispute was first reported by local media outlet The Fact early on Thursday, alleging that the agency owes billions of won (millions of dollars) in unpaid settlements to The Boyz, as well as its partner companies and staff members. It also stated that basic support, including practice spaces and company vehicles, was cut off, forcing the members to cover the costs themselves.

One Hundred Label denied the reports in its statement, saying that the members had refused to receive such support when the agency was “willing” to provide them.

It further denied The Fact’s additional claims that CEO Cha allegedly used the band’s housing deposit, calling it “groundless and malicious” and “clearly false,” and that it will take legal action against the outlet.

The Boyz debuted in 2017 with the EP “The First.” The band has 10 members and has released songs including “Giddy Up” (2018), “Bloom Bloom” (2019), “Maverick” (2021), “Whisper” (2022) and “Trigger” (2024).

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]