[By Dispatch's Sojung Kim & Minji Ku] 70,000 Tripitaka Koreana, a total of 70,000 scriptures were uttered. To be exact, 75,598 characters had been spoken.
The conversation involved Sung-il Ahn(aka Siahn, CEO of The Givers), former members of Fifty Fifty, and their parents. The meeting took place at the office of "The Givers" on May 13th, 2023.
Ten people were present: Sung-il Ahn, Sehyun Jeong(Saena), Jeong(Saena's father), Baek(Saena's mother), Jiho Jeong(Sio), Jeong(Sio's father), Seung Youn Woo(Sio's mother), Jeong(Aran's father), Seon Young Park(Aran's mother), and Duk-young Song(Keena's father).
Sung-il Ahn led the conversation, speaking 52,756 characters over 159 minutes and 16 seconds. In other words, he dominated 71% of the discussion, while the remaining 29% was shared among the other nine participants.
The conversation that day could be summarized into roughly 13 key terms:
Warner (referring to Warner Music Korea with 93 mentions), Hongjune Chun(90 mentions), contract(55 mentions), America(52 mentions), Plan B(40 mentions), settlement(37 mentions), label(29 mentions), overseas(28 mentions), Plan A(26 mentions), lawsuit(19 mentions), advance payment(18 mentions), distributor(17 mentions), and termination(11 mentions).
Sung-il Ahn disparaged CEO Hongjune Chun, raising issues with settlements and advance payments. He presented Plan A and Plan B, emphasizing Plan B (14 times more than Plan A), which involved provisional disposition approval and moving to Warner's label.
Dispatch has obtained evidence of Sung-il Ahn's tampering. Behind Sung-il Ahn was Warner Music Korea. It is clear that the forces behind the Fifty Fifty incident were Sung-il Ahn and Warner.
Does CEO Chun have no plans for the kids?
[CEO Oscar Chun] can’t have plans.
For he has never made plans.
From the moment the group entered Billboard, he changed 180 degrees.
And the company was going in a strange direction.
I think that at heart, he wants to be like HYBE.
# Gaslighting
Gaslighting is this scary.
Mother of a Member: "Does Mr. Chun have any plans for the artists?"
Sung-il Ahn: "There can't be any plans. He has never made any plans."
Sung-il Ahn has portrayed CEO Hongjune Chun as the epitome of 'lack of planning,' dismissing him as an outdated manager dreaming of 'get-rich-quick' schemes.
"His behavior changed completely in the opposite way from the moment entering the Billboard charts. Consequently, the company began to go awry." (Transcript of Sung-il Ahn)
According to Ahn, Representative Chun rejected Warner Music Korea's offer of 20 billion won(approximately $14.93 million). Instead, he allegedly derided other distributors with a dismissive "money, money, money" attitude.
Sung-il Ahn: "Naturally, no one expected that Hongjune Chun would refuse Warner Music Korea's offer. Even though the 20 billion won buyout offer had been proposed, the only thing on his mind is to become like HYBE."
Data that ATTRAKT Has Submitted to the Court
Summary of Investment Costs Related to the Girl Groups
Costs of nurturing girl groups (subject to payment settlement)
Year
4 members of FIFTY FIFTY and 21 others outside FIFTY FIFTY
Operating expenses
Total
Direct expenses: subject to payment settlement
Indirect expenses: corporate debt
# Anxiety-Inducing Uncertainty Manipulation
Sung-il Ahn propagated 'fake news'.
In 2022, CEO Hongjune Chun received an advance payment from Interpark. This 9 billion won(approximately $6.6 million) was secured under the premise of exclusive distribution for new albums from artists such as Bobby Kim, Ha Sung-woon, and a new girl group.
However, an advance payment is not a debt incurred by the artists. Singers are only responsible for covering the direct costs incurred. Nevertheless, Sung-il Ahn stoked fears of a 'debt burden'.
Let's examine Sung-il Ahn's peculiar calculation method more closely.
Sung-il Ahn: "When CEO Chun was at Starcrew Entertainment Co. Ltd., he received 7 billion won (approximately $5.2 million, for Bobby Kim and Ha Sung-woon) upfront. And when the Fifty Fifty's debut album (Higher) was released, he received an additional 2 billion won(approximately $1.5 million). Strictly speaking, the advance for Fifty Fifty should be considered as 2 billion won. The 7 billion won is unrelated to these artists (Fifty Fifty)."
Member's Mother: "Hmm…"
Sung-il Ahn: "Right?"
Member's Mother: "Yes."
Is Sung-il Ahn unaware of the advance and settlement structure, or is he intentionally misleading? It is worth noting that advance payments are company liabilities, not debts for the artists to repay.
The direct costs for 'Fifty Fifty' amount to 3 billion won (approximately $2.2 million, as of May 2023). Thus, only these costs need to be deducted from the revenue. As a result, Keena turned a profit by the end of last year through a 'plus' settlement.
# Nitpicking
Sung-il Ahn exhibits excessive self-importance. Consider, for example, the story of 4 billion won(approximately $3 million).
Sung-il Ahn: I explained about the calculation for the artists, explained about the stages, planned their growth, and the method of approach. So I agreed to take on the project for 4 billion won. However, I have never received the 4 billion won.
Checked with 'Attrakt' to verify this statement. They laughed.
"Why would we give 4 billion won to Sung-il Ahn? That money should be spent on the girl group." (Source)
Sung-il Ahn also criticized the company's financial difficulties.
Sung-il Ahn: During Higher, it was very difficult. The funds kept getting tangled. (Omitted) No matter how much I designed the system, the owner risk was too severe… To avoid affecting our friends(the artists, Fifty Fifty), the defense work for the artist continued to increase.
Attrakt was also asked about this part. They laughed again.
"It is true that the company was struggling at that time. That's correct. The first album (Higher) did not do so well. We had shot(invested, funded, produced) the music videos for all four songs. It cost a lot of money. But Sung-il Ahn was the producer of the first album. Why does he omit that fact?" (Source)
When I was in LA, Adore contacted me.
They offered me the amount of money for Min Hee-jin and asked me to take up the newcomer project.
(According to Min Hee-jin's side, Min Hee-jin doesn't know Ahn Sung-il. They have never met. Hive has never made any suggestions to Ahn Sung-il.)
They should become the main cover model for Vogue US.
When we were talking to Moncler, Mercedes-Benz, etc. for advertisements …
There is a big agent in the US called William Morris.
I have been communicating directly with the person in charge of Adele and Bruno Mars for a year and a half …
# The Pretense of Grandeur(gaslighting by bluffing)
First, let us consider the purported success myth of 'Cupid'. Here is Sung-il Ahn's analysis.
"The public attributes its success to TikTok, but that's not the case. From the very beginning of the promotion, I targeted only Asia."
In other words, Sung-il Ahn attributes the success of 'Cupid' to his precise targeting of the Asian market. However, upon verification with ATTRAKT, it was revealed that there was no such Asian-focused promotion conducted for 'Cupid'.
He further elaborated on his (unverifiable) connections and (unheard-of) projects:
Sung-il Ahn: "While I was in LA, I received a call from Adore. They proposed an amount (under the equal condition) to Director Heejin Min (to me) and requested that I take on a new artist from there."
(According to Heejin Min's representatives, Heejin Min does not know Sung-il Ahn and has never met him. HYBE has also never made any offer to Sung-il Ahn.)
Sung-il Ahn: "At that time, I had just finalized collaborations with international artists in the U.S. I had also arranged radio station awards."
Sung-il Ahn: "I am also in discussions with Vogue U.S. Being featured as the model on the main cover is a must."
Sung-il Ahn: "I am negotiating advertisements with brands like Moncler and Benz… Shouldn't be involved in any obscure domestic chicken advertisements."
Sung-il Ahn: "TikTok? My desk has every business card from TikTok headquarters. I have met with TikTok representatives. We provide them with the sped-up version and similar materials."
Sung-il Ahn: "When targeting Korea... it's said that you can buy charts. Rankings can be manipulated with money. It's possible to place within the top 100 with 80,000 units domestically. Achieving 80,000 units isn't difficult."
Even amidst his self-aggrandizement, Sung-rl Ahn maintained a derogatory stance towards Hongjune Chun.
Sung-il Ahn: "The reason CEO Hongjune Chun wants to have a contract with HYBE US is... (omitted) Mr. Chun intends to take a percentage of the event fees for himself."
Member's Mother: "Hmph. Unbelievable."
An Sung-il: "Yes. HYBE US is essentially an event organizing company."
Member's Mother: "Does he have no regard for the children(artists, FIFTY FIFTY) at all?"
Sung-il Ahn: "None whatsoever."
"There's a friend who does William Morris, the largest agency in the U.S. I have been in discussions for a year and a half. William Morris represents all the top Hollywood stars globally. Currently, I am in direct communication with representatives for Adele and Bruno Mars..." (Sung-il Ahn)
# Deceptive claims which ultimately led to Warner Music Korea
According to Sung-il Ahn, Heejin Min was the one who initially approached him. Moncler and Benz were potential advertisers, while he maintained connections with TikTok headquarters to share updates on the sped-up version. He also claimed to have friends at William Morris.
At the pinnacle of the network supposedly owned by Sung-il Ahn is Simon, the CFO of Warner Music Group. This CFO, Simon, continues to be cited as a key element in the buildup of the K-Pop idol who becomes known as the betrayer referred to as 'Tong-su-dol'.
"There is a CFO named Simon at Warner Music Group. He was very supportive of me when I worked at Warner Music. I managed to achieve great success in the U.S. thanks to his assistance. The condition was, 'Take all the expenses incurred out of the money you earned.'" (Sung-il Ahn)
(Note: Sung-il Ahn has never worked at Warner Music, and the connection with CFO, Simon, remains unverified. Additionally, the phrase "Take all the expenses you incurred out of the money you earned" is not clearly interpretable.)
Sung-il Ahn's speech, spanning 70,598 characters, ultimately leads back to the theme of 'Warner'.
# Evasion scheme
What might have been to reason behind Sung-il Ahn's criticism of Hongjune Chun, praise of himself, condemnation of ATTRAKT, and commendation of The Givers? It was all part of a strategy to lead FIFTY FIFTY to Warner Music.
"Warner Music is a global company, a colossal entity with distributors in every local market worldwide. You can't even break into it from within Korea. I've already sorted all of that out."
"Director Chun should stay out of it. But instead, he goes around to domestic distributors and names prices without any evidence. So Warner's like, 'Who is this guy (Hongjune Chun)?'"
Sung-il Ahn insisted that to protect FIFTY FIFTY, "Hongjune Chun must be separated from the members." This marked the beginning of the "Tongsudol" saga (to persuade K-Pop idol stars to betray) and was evidence of tampering.
"I met with Clayton Jin(Korean name: Seungyoung Jin), the CEO of Warner Music Korea, and made a deal. We are to offer CEO Chun 20 billion won(approximately $14.93 million) and proposed restructuring the ownership of FIFTY FIFTY under Warner Music's management." (Sung-il Ahn)
Sung-il Ahn arranged a meeting with Warner Music Korea four days later, on May 17th, 2023.
"But there was a condition from Warner Music: 'CEO Ahn, you must continue to manage them.' Warner Music Korea decided to move forward under this condition." (Sung-il Ahn)
“I am American.
My name is Clayton.
I worked for Deutsche Bank Chicago and IDB for a long time.
(Omitted) I am now a (music industry) expert.
Having worked for seven years … I am an expert.”
# Manipulating Perceptions: Exploiting U.S.
Market Success to Influence FIFTY FIFTY
On May 17, 2023, in the basement meeting room of Warner Music Korea in Nonhyeon-dong, a secret meeting took place.
There were nine attendees: Clayton Jin(CEO of Warner Music Korea), Hyungkeun Youn(aka Kyle Youn, executive director at Warner Music Korea), Song(Keena's mother), Jeong(Saena's father), Baek(Saena's mother), Jeong(Sio's father), Seung Youn Woo(Sio's mother), Jeong(Aran's father) and Seon Young Park(Aran's mother).
First, Clayton Jin introduced himself.
"I'm originally from the U.S., born in Texas. My name is Clayton. I've worked at Deutsche Bank in Chicago and IDB for a long time. During the financial crisis, I lost interest in the financial sector. (omitted) Now, I'm an expert (in the music industry). I've been in this field for seven years… so I've become a specialist." (Clayton Jin)
His manner of conversation mirrored that of Sung-il Ahn. It began with a disrespectful critique of Hongjune Chun, belittling, mocking, and scheming.
Clayton Jin: "This is just my personal opinion. It's true that this person has struggled, but it's not because of the kids(artist, FIFTY FIFTY). I believe the struggles were more due to his managerial skills."
Clayton Jin further criticized Hongjune Chun's dream of a direct listing, expressing dissatisfaction with the proposal (200 billion won which is approximately $14.93 million ) from Warner.
"When direct listing comes up, it's not ideal. We need to focus on growing the songs, artists, and fan base… Someone should be paying attention to this and not getting distracted by other things." (Clayton Jin)
It seems like CEO Oscar Chun is trying to use the kids to get a big loan.
This makes me a little worried.
Will this money be used for FIFTY FIFTY?
Or will it be used for some other projects?
Let me tell you what I heard from CEO Chun...
Right now, they’re trying to nurture two separate boy idol groups...
# Deceptive Manipulation
What is the 'art of conversation' employed by Clayton? Primarily, it is deception.
"Representative Hongjune Chun seems to be attempting to secure a large loan by leveraging the kids. The concern here is whether this money will be used for FIFTY FIFTY or allocated to another plan. It's a bit worrisome."
Clayton distorted CEO Hongjune Chun's statements, hinting that "the loan money for FIFTY FIFTY might be diverted to other idol groups."
"If the CEO of a company is collecting money to spend entirely on them, it's commendable. However, what I heard from CEO Hongjune Chun is that he's trying to develop two separate boy groups…" (Clayton)
Ultimately, this was an effort to build up the notion that "Warner is different."
"FIFTY FIFTY's music sales are quite substantial. If we handle branding, a loan wouldn't be necessary. In reality, this is linked to the members' debts as well. He talks about wanting to use the money he's drawn to develop boys' groups…" (Clayton)
And the subsequent clincher:
"If the company takes out a loan, it should be used for FIFTY FIFTY. Using FIFTY FIFTY as leverage for other purposes is a risky move. It seems like that's somewhat of an intention on CEO Chun's part. FIFTY FIFTY doesn't actually need that much money." (Clayton)
# Security Manipulation
The parents of FIFTY FIFTY met with Sung-il Ahn on May 13th and Warner Music Korea on May 17th, just four days apart. During these meetings, they sought justifications for escape, discussed methods, and formulated plans.
It is clearly an instance of 'tampering'. This is evident, as 'recordings' do not lie.
Executive Director Hyungkeun Youn: "This is a very sensitive matter. If it gets leaked to the outside or reaches CEO Hongjune Chun, we could find ourselves in a very difficult position."
Executive Director Youn expressed concerns about security, stating, "CEO Ahn would also be in a very difficult situation. It's truly a delicate matter," underscoring the recognition of the risk involved in the meetings.
Clayton shed crocodile tears.
"This is my personal sentiment. CEO Chun, indeed, luck is part of skill. I hope he remains unharmed. We will support our artists according to their choices." (Clayton)
At the same time, Clayton encouraged legal action. He advised, "Parents, lawsuits should not be taken lightly. If you're going to proceed, see it through to the end," adding that "one shouldn't bluff like in poker."
"Unified resolve of the artists, the parents' unity, and our perseverance to win! Such a commitment is crucial. Starting something and then withdrawing will only worsen the situation." (Clayton)
# Service Manipulation
Warner promised full support for the injunction lawsuit.
Member's Mother: "If we start legal action, the children won't be able to use their current accommodation or practice rooms right away."
Clayton: "That's correct."
Member's Mother: "We need to have a general idea of what plans Warner has…"
Clayton: "The accommodation and practice rooms you mentioned are quite small. Those are indeed very minor issues that we can easily arrange."
Clayton also promised legal support. He boasted, "Warner has extensive knowledge of the judiciary," and vowed, "We will provide all necessary support to CEO Ahn through every possible means to expedite the resolution of the case."
"Our legal representative is a former prosecutor general who became a Supreme Court justice before retiring. (Omitted) He has never lost a case. We highly recommend him." (Clayton)
> A Statement from Warner Music Korea (230626)
Warner Music Korea has done its best to ensure that the achievements of FIFTY FIFTY and its agency can shine. We are deeply sorry that such unpleasant suspicions have been raised. Warner Music Korea respects the opinions of the artists and their agency, and we are proud to say that we have done our best as a global distributor up to now, which has been proven through various achievements. The claims made by ATTRAKT are groundless, and we also regret that they sent a certified letter.
# Injunction Manipulation
At the time of the FIFTY FIFTY controversy, ATTRAKT accused Warner Music Korea of being an 'external force,' alleging that Sung-il Ahn and the company attempted to hijack the girl group.
Warner Music denied the allegations.
"Warner Music Korea has always respected the opinions of artists and their agencies, and as a global distributor, we have done our utmost to this point. ATTRAKT's claims are baseless…" (Press Release)
While Warner Music publicly declared a stance of 'respect,' Clayton Jin was secretly plotting. Mockery also continued unabated.
Clayton: "CEO Hongjune Chun has turned his last name into becoming Mr. Bang. It feels almost like he has become Si-hyuk Bang. I'll quickly get a lawyer to help, and they will provide advice."
At the same time, he shared 'insider tips.'
"Whenever parents suddenly ask, 'Why haven't you given us the settlement statement?' it becomes too obvious. You need to gather evidence. By comparing contracts, settlement statements, text messages, etc., you can identify the script that emerges." (Clayton)
On June 16th, 2023, FIFTY FIFTY acted on this advice. They cited reasons such as missing settlements, following coaching from Warner Music and Sung-il Ahn.
"There is a trend in the courts to favor artists even if the agency makes just a 1% mistake. This is unfavorable for the agency. It's difficult to adhere to every detail of a contract. Even a minor delay in settlements or missing documents can be enough to cause a breach." (Clayton)
However, the true break was the escape plan of FIFTY FIFTY. It was an attempt to hijack by Warner Music and, ultimately, an unrealistic dream of Sung-il Ahn.
