[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Park Hee-eun] As the group Yellow Bee announced their disbandment, the reasons for the breakup are being disputed between the agency and the members.
On the 19th, Yellow Bee's agency, Addiction Entertainment, posted on their official fan cafe and SNS to announce the group's disbandment.
In the post, the agency stated, "Yellow Bee, who debuted in 2017, was preparing their third digital album 'DVD' and even considered continuing Yellow Bee by replacing all existing members. However, due to member B's personal misconduct and unresolved differences between the company and each member, the decision was made to disband after internal company meetings."
In response, on the 31st of last month, Yellow Bee member Ari posted on her SNS to refute the agency's claims. Ari said, "They say one member was promiscuous, but I don't understand what the company means by 'promiscuous.' Is it promiscuous just for men and women to stand together outside? This is baseless and exaggerated by the company."
In particular, Ari revealed that she was sexually harassed by agency officials. She claimed, "It was not that the member behaved promiscuously, but the company acted inappropriately. There were incidents of sexual harassment and misconduct by company officials and managers." She added, "One company official tried to take a member to the practice room to have sexual relations; everyone was present during that situation, and the only ones trying to stop it were the members themselves."
Continuing, she said, "There was physical contact such as being told to 'call me oppa' and having thighs touched." She also revealed, "That former manager said things that are hard to put into words, like 'I'll have a baby for you, let's go to a motel,' and 'You find your own dad.' There were several occasions when we were called late at night and pressured to drink alcohol under the pretense of meeting investors."
She further stated, "We all kept quiet because we just wanted to become singers. It was truly shocking at the time and still remains a trauma."
Additionally, Ari disclosed through the post, "We never received any payments, and instead, we had to handle costumes, shoes, and video editing ourselves." She emphasized, "I decided to quit because of unfair treatment, not because of any member's promiscuous lifestyle. What I have shared is only some of the unfair treatment we endured."
Finally, she added, "The company is portraying us as bad people, so I don’t know how else to respond. I am writing this as a representative. Thank you for reading this long post."
Meanwhile, Yellow Bee is a girl group consisting of Ryuhee, Annie, Ari, Soye, and Seolha. They debuted in 2017 with the single album 'Ttalgguk.'
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