A Japanese idol trainee who disappeared just months before debut is now being tracked by Korean police, with investigators imposing a travel ban as suspicions of repeated “double contracting” surface.
According to Yonhap News Agency on Sunday, the Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul placed the trainee, identified only as A, under a travel ban on fraud charges while attempting to locate him after receiving a complaint from a K-pop agency. An exit ban is a measure applied to foreign nationals to prevent them from leaving the country.
The case has drawn attention online for its unusual timing. A had been preparing to debut as part of a six-member boy group, but abruptly vanished in December last year, about two months before the group’s launch. He reportedly left behind a message saying that “trust had been broken,” before cutting off contact.
At the time, the group had already completed a music video shoot, and its songs and members’ faces had been revealed to the public. Following A’s disappearance, the group proceeded to debut as a five-member act and has continued promotions without him.
The agency said it only pursued legal action after later discovering that A had allegedly been under contract with another company at the same time — a practice commonly referred to in the industry as a “double contract.” The agency further claimed that A had shown similar behavior in the past.
“He had a history of cutting off contact with a previous company and going into hiding,” the agency said, alleging that A repeatedly signed with Korean agencies, received investment and training support, and then fled to Japan just before beginning official activities.
The company estimated its financial losses at around 57.43 million won ($42,000), citing expenses such as choreography production, housing rent and meals over a four-month period.
Police believe A is still in Korea and are continuing efforts to determine his whereabouts.
According to the Korea Creative Content Agency, 42 out of 963 trainees signed to domestic agencies as of the end of 2024 were foreign nationals.
This article from Xportsnews is adapted by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.
Source: Korea Times News
