𝗜𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗼𝗱𝗮𝗕𝘂𝗯𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘇 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗛&𝗦 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 & 𝗞𝗮𝗸𝗮𝗼 𝗠

After the girls decided to leave their company they settled a court case to annul Bongcha's, Guckheyon's, May's and Aoi's obligation to continue in the company and debut as SUGAR POP. Their argument was that none of them had agreed to join a survival show in which a 4 membered girl group was formed, but yes instead an 8 membered group. This detail was stated in the contract they signed when embarking on the show and according to their lawyer, was something that could have changed whether they joined the show or not, accusing the company of willfully misleading the participants in order for them to join thinking there was a bigger chance of debuting.

The court found this a reasonable argument and released Bongcha, May, Guckhyeon and Aoi from their contractual obligation to stay under H&S as their SUGARPOP contract demanded. Pissed at this, the agency threatened all the girls, saying that if they left they would have to not only pay off their trainee debt but also their living expenses while on SugarPop . This really shook the girls ,as the quantity was actually quite exaggerated to the point the money would be unpayable even in the girl's wildest dreams. It seemed like they would be stuck in this company that hated them and actively mistreated them for exploitation media, it was a deeply despairing moment and the girls were in unabashed panic.

wang gwanhei,2020

But very very very fortunately, Jiusi's dad's lawyer, Wang Gwanhei, really wasn't gonna let them rot away in an slave contract and in a late night of mindless searching, he found a text on H&S official yet obscure website in which they ensured that under their roof the trainee's medical and physical needs would be met and that the staff would take care so the trainees stayed in a healthy condition. The quote made something click in the young lawyer's head and he then dived right into the girl's old trainee contracts they signed when they first joined. The same introductory text from the website was plastered on top of the terms and conditions. This became H&S's destruction. Gwanhei filed a lawsuit to get all of the girls's contracts annulled claiming H&S had violated this legally binding promise which meant the girls were in no way obliged to follow the guidelines regarding trainee debts and would lose any ties to H&S.

He contacted former-contestants and staff and they all joined the lawsuit, giving in-depth testimonies about the dire living conditions and abusive work hours along with the 8 Soda Bubblez members. H&S took this VERY hard and set on trying to assassinate the character of every single witness,paying off their current staff to testify in their favour and tell lies about the witnesses' behaviour on the shoots. It was an incredibly stressful and frustrating period, the girls having to defend their own motives for suing everyday while hearing ludicrous accusations from the people who had mistreated them. It was a classic case of she said he said and it was turning into a mess, but, midway through it one of the filming crew staff joined the lawsuit and provided some unaired footage they had secretly taken.

The footage contained a video of the main manager for the contestants, Ong Hanyeol yelling at Ullji and Chermarm, two contestants who were both 17 at the time. The man scolded the girls for making such a fuss and warning the older girls that their maknae, Aoi had passed out from dehydration . The camera mainly focused on his harsh words and aggressive gesturing, but after some moments it slowly turns left, showing a passed out Aoi being held by Hina and Xifeng as they scream at two managers, angrily pleading for them to get some help. The situation escalates and the video ends with the Hina and Xifeng carrying Aoi off camera as a huge mass of girls mob the managers throwing angry words at them, asking why they weren't doing anything, Ong Hanyeol pushes Pinhan off her feet and the screen goes black.

After watching this footage, and looking through many pictures that illustrated the inhumane reality of the Sugarpop dorms, the Seoul Justice Department was pretty darn sure that not only had they broken their contractual responsibilities, but also several labor laws. Soda Bubblez was free from their trainee debt, and it was declared that anyone who had been a staff or contestant on Sugar Pop was capable of annuling their contract with H&S, no questions asked. H&S and Kakao M, the company that distributed and oversaw the SUGAR POP shoots had to pay a fine of 2 billion won, H&S's CEO was forced to step down and Ong Hayeol, along with different staff members who were implicated in his actions, was convicted of assault, and inhumane abusive treatment of his workers. He is currently serving a 4 months jail time sentence and had his business administration license revoked

#𝗞𝗔𝗞𝗔𝗢𝗜𝗦𝗚𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗧𝗢𝗝𝗔𝗜𝗟𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗬 𝗡

#𝗛&𝗦𝗜𝗦𝗚𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗧𝗢𝗝𝗔𝗜𝗟𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗬