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On February 12, 2024, LE SSERAFIM's Sakura captured worldwide attention on X with multiple hashtags. Fans brought forth allegations against Source Music, the agency home of LE SSERAFIM, and a HYBE subsidiary, accusing them of selling signed pre-order photos of the idol.
New images of Sakura from her upcoming photoshoot with the Chinese magazine HERDES surfaced on February 12. Although there was considerable discussion over the picture retouching, as the images began to circulate, fans retaliated against Source Music, allegedly claiming that a staff member was involved in the unauthorized sale of autographed Polaroids originally intended for the fans. Expressing disappointment on social media, one fan (@kkurasier) wrote,
"As an agency, you should treat your artist with respect and not selling signed polaroid photos from an unreleased international magazine collaboration. We demand a full explanation of this matter."
"TREAT SAKURA BETTER": Fans outraged against Source Music's alleged mistreatment towards the idol
Following the release of images, it was initially assumed that LE SSERAFIM's Sakura had taken twelve Polaroid pictures. However, it was later discovered that eight of these photos were allegedly sold by an employee of Source Music, leaving only four remaining to be distributed as perks to fans. The revelation sparked outrage among the idol's supporters, who demanded an explanation from Source Music.
Several fans drew attention to the fact that the location where the polaroids were sold unauthorized was Yongsan, where the corporate office of Source Music is located in Seoul.
A fan (@39liz) noted that the sold Polaroid photos of Sakura were recovered after 24 hours on January 17, 2024, however, Source Music failed to issue an apology.
Following the online dissemination of the images and related tweets, the conversation appeared to spread to the Chinese publication, HERDES. Reportedly, an agency affiliated with HERDES magazine China got in touch with a few fans of Sakura and apologized regarding the matter.
The publication expressed sincere regret for all the events that had transpired and mentioned that the purportedly for sale Polaroid pictures had been discovered. They clarified that every single one of the pictures was not sold and was recovered. They also mentioned that the pictures were handed back to Source Music, and the online article was taken down that put the pictures on sale.
An X user (@1998_03_19) shared screenshots of the message by the HERDES affiliate,
"Hello, I'm a representative of Studio Cabin. I apologize for reaching out to you urgently. We are the company responsible as the agents for the recent incident related to the Herdes magazine in China. First and foremost, we express our sincere apologies for this situation. After the incident occurred, we diligently communicated with Source Music to thoroughly investigate both internal and external aspects of the photo studio, starting from inside and outside CCTV footage."
They continued,
"As a result, we successfully retrieved all the Polaroid photos related to this matter. No photos were sold, and all of them have been handed over to Source Music. We also confirmed that the mentioned article had been taken down and that there had been no other incident involved. We deeply regret the occurrence of such a situation once again and are so sorry that fans had to go through this matter..."
Nevertheless, fans were still enraged at Source Music for not issuing an apology and being negligent towards Sakura's projects. Furthermore, since February 10, 2024, another hashtag, "TREAT SAKURA BETTER," along with "LET SAKURA TO HAVE MORE FREEDOM," has been trending on X. Fans tweeted on the social media platform using this tag to highlight the company's alleged restrictions on Sakura and her solo endeavors.
Fans believe that the company reportedly prohibits the LE SSERAFIM idol from going on shows alone or making solo appearances. In 2023, the idol appeared on GOT7 BamBam's YouTube show, Bam House, and confessed that she was surprised that her company allowed her to go on a show by herself.
The clip was heavily circulated online as fans were convinced that Source Music reportedly restricts Sakura in several ways. Now, after the unauthorized sale of the idol's signed Polaroid pictures surfaced online on February 12, fans were outright saddened and furious and lashed out at the company.
A fan, @kkurapomu, wrote on X that Source Music (here it is written as "soumu" by the online user) will "deny" everything.
"I have a feeling soumu [sic] is gonna deny this and say they didn’t know the employee stole them but if you think about it, they knew what was going on from the start cause they refused to give more benefits and ghosted the magazine for weeks."
Others reacted similarly to the latest incident on X and expressed their anger.
In other news, LE SSERAFIM is set to release their third mini-album, EASY, on February 19, 2024.
