As crossover K-pop single “Cupid” by FIFTY FIFTY hones in on nearly half a year on the Billboard charts, the Korean record label behind the group, ATTRAKT, has secured a multimillion overseas investment.
On August 31, Singaporean investment company Evergreen Group Holdings announced its promise to pull an investment of nearly $7.6 million (about 10 billion Korean won) for the K-pop agency by the end of September. Prior to the announcement, Evergreen Group Holdings’ CEO David Yong (the businessman, lawyer and, recently, a K-pop singer himself) and ATTRAKT CEO Jeon Hongjun (the music exec who is also listed as CEO of Star Crew Entertainment, home to K-pop star Ha Sung Woon before he left in late 2021) signed a memorandum of understanding in hopes of securing more investments.
“I thank David Yong for seeing the future value of the company and making the investment,” Jeon said, according to the Korea JoongAng Daily. “ATTRAKT must now walk towards a positive and proactive future.”
The payday comes after Jeon had caught the public’s eye by sharing that he and ATTRAKT officials personally invested tens of thousands of dollars into the label’s sole artist, FIFTY FIFTY, and sold items like their Rolex watches and luxury cars to finance the group’s music career which began last November with their four-song EP titled The Fifty. K-pop acts are notoriously expensive to launch. A 2020 Forbes piece highlighted that new entertainment label ZB LABEL spent approximately $300,000 (or about 395 million Korean won) to debut its first-ever artist, the soloist AleXa, with 70 percent of costs due to marketing, promotions and music videos.
ATTRAKT has also been in the public eye due to an intense legal battle with FIFTY FIFTY since June, with the female quartet claiming the agency violated its contract by failing to offer proper medical care, lacking transparency when it came to earnings, and misuse of company funds, as reported by The Korea Times. In addition to industry costs, K-pop agencies are responsible for handling nearly all aspects of artists’ lives including financial management, personal matters, and, typically, food, clothing and housing.
On August 25, just days before the public announcement of the Evergreen investment, the Seoul Central District Court dismissed FIFTY FIFTY’s motion to nullify its exclusive contract with ATTRAKT. A law firm representing the group has said they will immediately appeal.
Earlier in August, FIFTY FIFTY group members Keena, Saena, Sio and Aran broke their silence publicly with a handwritten letter to fans where they apologized for the situation, thanked supporters amid the legal battle, and shared that they wanted to “take this opportunity to right the wrongs that have been forced in our relationship with the agency to protect our music.” They conclude the letter by saying they want “to carry out our activities as true artists in a trustworthy environment.”
While ATTRAKT lists FIFTY FIFTY as its only artist, the future is still open on whether this new investment will ultimately go to helping the girl group return to the spotlight, finance a new act for Jeon and ATTRAKT, or used in other ways. In the meantime, “Cupid” is still climbing up the singles and radio charts despite the group not appearing in public in months.
