K-pop label faces fan, investor fury after firing dating artists

Cube Entertainment

14/09/2018 09:15

By Joori Roh
    SEOUL, Sept 14 (Reuters) - A South Korean record label's
move to dump two K-pop artists who had declared their romantic
relationship has sparked a major fan backlash on social media
and knocked its share price lower.
    Cube Entertainment Inc  182360.KQ  announced in a statement
on Thursday that it had fired female singer Hyun Ah, 26, from
the group Triple H, and E'Dawn, 24, from the 10-member boy band
Pentagon, citing broken trust in the artists.
    "After a few discussions and thought, we decided to expel
the two as we thought it is impossible to rebuild faith with
both Hyun Ah and E'Dawn," it said in a statement on Thursday. 
It did not elaborate on its reasons and did not explicitly refer
to the relationship between the two.
    Several South Korean performers have complained in recent
years about rules their record labels place on their personal
lives, including restrictions on alcohol, dating and plastic
surgery.
    While Cube later partially reversed its decision with its
chief executive, Shin Dae-nam, on Thursday saying the decision
was still under consideration, the damage was already done.
    Its shares have fallen 10.6 percent since market open on
Thursday while fans took their outrage to social media.
    "Can't wait till your stocks drop faster than my internet
speed," a user named jypentertainme.nt wrote on Cube's Instagram
profile.
    The couple went public on social media last month declaring
they had been in a relationship for two years, following media
speculation and a previous denial by Cube.
    A Cube spokesperson referred Reuters queries to CEO Shin's
comments. Neither Hyun Ah nor E'Dawn, whose real names are Kim
Hyun-ah and Kim Hyo-jong, respectively, could be reached for
comment.

 (Reporting by Joori Roh; Writing by Sam Holmes; Editing by
Christopher Cushing)
 ((Sam.Holmes@thomsonreuters.com;))