Warner Music Korea has attempted to poach members of rising K-pop girl group Fifty Fifty through a third party, the group's agency alleged Monday.
"Both a subcontracted outsourcing company and Warner Music Korea appear to be behind the recent attempt by an outside force to steal Fifty Fifty members," Attrakt said in a press release.
"We detected evidence that the outsourcing company approached Warner Music Korea to sell Attrakt's girl group Fifty Fifty," the agency said, asking Warner Music Korea to provide an adequate explanation and unveil its position on the issue.
The K-pop agency, however, did not disclose the name of the outsourcing company.
It added that it has also sent a piece of mail to Warner Music Korea asking for an explanation.
Attrakt said on Friday that unspecified "outside forces" have approached the group members to entice them to ignore their existing exclusive contracts with the agency and sign new ones.
Warner Music Korea denied the allegations as "groundless."
Noting that it has been working as the group's global distributor since April, the firm expressed its displeasure at the allegations.
"We have made every effort to provide our capabilities and network to enhance the remarkable achievements attained by Fifty Fifty and its agency," it said in a statement. "However, we are deeply disappointed by the unsavory allegations that have been raised."
The K-pop quartet made its debut in November and quickly rose to global fame after becoming the fastest K-pop group to enter the U.S. Billboard's Hot 100 songs chart with its new song "Cupid." The song has stayed on the chart and the British Official Singles Chart for 13 weeks in a row, making Fifty Fifty the longest-staying K-pop girl group on both charts.
The group is currently taking a temporary break as one member recently underwent surgery and will require an additional one or two months for recovery, according to its agency.
It, however, has not disclosed the identity of the member who underwent the surgery, nor have they provided specific details regarding her symptoms or the name of the disease.
Source: Yonhap News Agency