Soloist Minty is being sued by her entertainment agency, CoronaX Entertainment.
On July 21, the company revealed they were suing Minty for "misappropriation." Minty was hired as a stylist for the male idol group, AboutU. While working for them, she had snuck into their practice studio without advance notice and stole one of the members' leather jackets, wearing it as she headed out. The jacket was worn during the group's debut days. Minty was caught on CCTV footage stealing the clothing.
She was hired as a stylist earlier this year, but was soon swapped out after their first broadcast.
Minty originally denied the allegations, but later admitted to taking the jacket after CCTV footage was revealed. She later claimed that she only took the jackets to return it as they had been rented. Newsen said, "At first, Minty denied the whole incident, but when confronted with the CCTV footage, she insisted that it was a sponsorship rental."
There was no receipt to prove that the jacket was rented and CoronaX Entertainment concluded Minty was lying. The two parties tried to settle but the agency claimed they proceeded with the necessary legal requirement for the lawsuit back in May. Newsen reported, "The agency expressed that after finding no proof of the rental and trying to come to a settlement, no action was taken for five months, so we had no choice but to file a lawsuit."
The agency also released a brief statement, saying, "Last February, Minty was captured putting on an item that the group AboutU wore, wearing a padded jacket on top, and leaving on CCTV footage. When we called Minty to tell her the clothing was missing, she insisted she took it for a sponsorship. But when we checked the receipts afterward, it was not a sponsorship."
Former AboutU member Victor Han was also spotted on the CCTV footage leaving the practice room with a box, but it is neither confirmed nor denied if he had any knowledge of Minty leaving with the leather jacket. The agency stated that Victor Han would be added as a testifier in the lawsuit.
Minty became famous through her audition clip for Mnet's "High School Rapper 2," but was embroiled in controversy after it was revealed she had lied about her age. She had auditioned for the program claiming to be born in 2002 and in the 9th grade. Rumors had started going around that she was in her 30s and was actually an agency CEO who had produced her own girl group, Girls' Alert (GSA). Her agency confirmed she was a CEO and not in high school, but clarified she was only in her 20s.
They went on to say that though Minty wanted to reveal her real age numerous time, external and internal pressures forced her to stay silent. At the time, she was an unknown artist and was in a hopeless situation, so it was a valuable opportunity for her, according to CoronaX Entertainment.
Minty has not released a statement on the matter.
