LOONA is living off of what Chuu makes? Or is it media play by her? In an article, Dispatch revealed the "truth" about the settlement division between the group and and the idol. Is it really true she didn't receive any income in 2021?
Dispatch Clarifies Real Salary Division Between LOONA & Chuu
On December 19, Korean media outlet Dispatch released a lengthy article revealing the explosive truth behind Blockberry x Chuu's discord.
The article clarified the truth about the assumption that Chuu's earnings were also divided among LOONA, prior to her departure from the group and agency.
In context, when the idol left the girl group and Blockberry, the term "Chuu-father" became even more popular to describe how Chuu acts like a father and supports LOONA through her personal activities, yet she was treated unfairly.
Dispatch stated that this is "misinformation."
"LOONA operates following the per-person settlement system. This means that what Chuu earns, goes to Chuu. What a member makes, goes to the member."
This was even certified by the idol herself. Dispatch revealed the text messages Chuu had with their CEO on October 5, 2021.
Chuu: CEO-nim, I'm not by chance paying everyone's (LOONA) debt as well, right?
CEO: Of course not.
Dispatch Reveals Chuu's Income in 2022
In October this year, Chuu appeared on the program "Dr. Oh's Golden Clinic" amid contract problems with Blockberry. There, she mentioned that not receiving any income in 2021. Hence, her financial struggle caused her binge-eating disorder due to stress.
However, based on Blockberry's settlement data, LOONA earned 18.2 billion KRW from 2016 to 2022 (revenue) and spent 16.9 billion KRW (expenditure).
Based on the group's pre and post-settlement method, LOONA received 5.4 billion KRW. Minus their 8.4 billion KRW expenses each, LOONA received zero income, leaving them 3 billion KRW of debt instead, or about 200 million KRW each.
However, Chuu, known for her solo activities, had a different situation from them. Since December last year, Dispatch confirmed that the female idol is already gaining a "positive" settlement.
"In fact, in January of this year, Chuu received her first salary of 70 million KRW ($54k) To this date, her total amount received is around 220 million KRW ($169k)"
The outlet added that since April, the singer is also keeping 100% of her earnings from individual activities since Blockberry only provides support to her when it is about LOONA.
Chuu attested to this through her representative and said:
"It's true. Since it's a per-person settlement system, I had a lot of solo activities so I was able to receive my salary first. However, I'm not aware if the expenses are being managed properly. I never received the data showing the basis for this settlement."
In addition, Chuu refuted claims she wants to focus on her solo activities rather than LOONA, explaining that she even wrote another agreement with the company just to stay with them.
"To be honest, I don't have trust in my company since last year. I don't want to appear in Queendom either.
But, I also didn't want to give up on LOONA.
I wrote the supplementary agreement so I could continue with group activities."
READ MORE: Blockberry Creative Reveals Plan For LOONA After Chuu's Departure– Why Is It Drawing Mixed Reactions?
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Written by Eunice Dawson.
