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On Thursday, January 16, the agency, UNCORE, managing the project group, CLOSE YOUR EYES, which resulted from the K-pop reality survival show, Project 7, released a statement in response to PocketDol studio. The conflict began when UNCORE released a statement seemingly calling out PocketDol studio for engaging two of the group members in schedules outside Project 7.
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UNCORE explained that the contract signed with the participants mentioned that the contestants and those who will be debuting in the resultant K-pop group will not be allowed to participate in external events and schedules. Therefore, UNCORE criticized PocketDol studio for allegedly planning overseas schedules for two of CLOSE YOUR EYES members, BAE173’s J-Min and Sakurada Kenshin.
Meanwhile, PocketDol Studio responded to the statement by expressing that UNCORE's initial contract allowed the participants to engage in dual activities. However, they also added that following the debut of BAE173’s J-Min and Sakurada Kenshin into CLOSE YOUR EYES, another contract was sent to PocketDol Studio which prohibited dual activities.
The agency also further expressed that no agreement regarding the new contract was met. They further criticized UNCORE for avoiding communication about the issue and further blocking the agency from contacting their artists. In response to this statement, UNCORE recently released another statement.
They reiterated that independent activities outside Project 7 or CLOSE YOUR EYES would be a breach of contract. Here's what part of the statement read:
"The relevant clause in the contract was put in place to allow artists to appear on the program if they had unavoidable prior contracts, with the consent of the production team, ensuring that no harm would come to the artists. This clause does not mean that artists can independently pursue other activities during Project 7 or after the final debut as a group, which would be a clear breach of contract."
All you need to know about the ongoing conflict between PocketDol Studio and UNCORE regarding the CLOSE YOUR EYES members' contract clauses
On January 10, UNCORE released a statement anonymously calling out the agency of some of the CLOSE YOUR EYES members. The issue was regarding the members, Jeon Min-wook and Sakurada Kenshin being involved in domestic and overseas schedules outside the group without UNCORE's knowledge.
They expressed that the agencies' actions undermined UNCORE's efforts and investment to create the global K-pop boy group that was created through Project 7. Therefore, they also warned the agency regarding legal action against them. In response, a legal representative of Pocket Dol Studio expressed that the situation was unfair to them and the two artists housed under them.
PocketDol Studio continued to criticize UNCORE for not discussing the new contract regarding the prohibition of the members' dual activities. They also highlighted that the members were taken for Project 7's overseas schedules without permission from PocketDol Studio.
Furthermore, the agency was also angered about the UNCORE blocking communication of Jeon Min-wook and Sakurada Kenshio with PocketDol Studio to the extent that the agency had to file two missing-person complaints. They concluded their statement by explaining that they would take necessary legal measures to fight back UNCORE's claims.
Most recently, UNCORE explained that the clause was previously explained and was made applicable to all the 200 contestants at Project 7. They shared:
"It was guaranteed at the time of the contract that the artists had no other contracts conflicting with the project group’s activities and that they would not enter into any such contracts in the future. This contract was uniformly applied to all 200 participants of Project 7 without exception, under the same terms and conditions."
They concluded their statement by highlighting that PocketDol Studio did not inform or reach any agreement with UNCORE regarding the two members' activities outside CLOSE YOUR EYES. However, they also explained that dual activities would not have been permitted due to the pre-established contract.
