Member of the group DJ DOC, Lee Ha-neul, declared a countersuit against singer Ju BITRAIN and his agency BASS Studio's representative, Mr. Lee. BASS Studio also rebutted Lee Ha-neul's statement.

On the 21st, BASS Studio issued an official statement, saying, "Lee Ha-neul and his agency Funkytown claimed through an official statement on the 20th that 'the matters concluded through the investigation process with Lee Ha-neul, as announced by Ju BITRAIN and his agency BASS Studio in the media, are all false.'"

It continued, "Therefore, we have concluded that we can no longer remain silent about Lee Ha-neul and his agency Funkytown's repeated and malicious acts. As a corporation with the responsibility to protect the soundness of popular culture artists and the popular culture industry, we express deep concern and regret over the reality that they are indiscriminately spreading false information at a 'cyber gangster' level and publicly disclosing it through official statements."

Earlier, on the 18th, according to the police, on the 7th, Lee Ha-neul was sent to the police without detention on charges of defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act. He is suspected of spreading false information by claiming that Mr. Lee, the head of the agency of Ju BITRAIN, with whom he has a legal dispute, is a criminal.

In response, on the 20th, Lee Ha-neul's side issued an official statement saying, "Mr. Lee and Ju BITRAIN, while working at Funkytown, have continuously committed illegal acts, including fraud, embezzlement, and obstruction of business, which have disrupted the company's operations, and despite their actions, they exploited 'the good faith of artist Lee Ha-neul' to mediate a smooth resignation, proposing unacceptable monetary resignation conditions to the company, which was unable to accept, leading to immediate dismissal."

Lee Ha-neul's side explained, "In response, the resentful Mr. Lee and Ju BITRAIN raised procedural issues against the company and filed unjust dismissal relief applications while fabricating evidence through various data compilation, reporting workplace harassment to the Ministry of Employment and Labor." It continued, "Unfortunately, during the review process of the unjust dismissal relief, the unfairness of their actions was not judged in the review, and only procedural flaws were considered. While the unjust dismissal relief application was recognized, fortunately, we were able to secure original and rebuttal materials regarding workplace harassment, which confirmed that all the evidence they submitted was fabricated and this was dismissed."

"In such actions where they spare no means, including fabricating evidence solely for their own benefit, the most unforgivable part is that they are still undermining and attacking artist Lee Ha-neul, who was trying to protect them until the end," it noted. "Fearing that if the issue with the company is made public, their illegal acts would be exposed, they have continued to mentally and socially harass artist Lee Ha-neul by launching repeated lawsuits against him since shortly after their resignation."

Lee Ha-neul's side stated, "Currently, artist Lee Ha-neul has a total of 4 lawsuits filed against him by them at various investigative agencies, of which the charge that he defamed Ju BITRAIN has been dismissed without charges, but due to the opposing party's objection, it is currently under re-investigation."

Additionally, Lee Ha-neul's side stated, "Funkytown has currently filed charges against Ju BITRAIN and Mr. Lee for fraud, embezzlement, destruction of electronic records, obstruction of business, and obstruction of business by deception. We also plan to file additional charges for defamation, threats, and insult. We view this matter as an act with the intent to long-term and habitually damage the artist's reputation, not merely a simple conflict. Funkytown will spare no legal efforts to protect the rights of its artists and will respond resolutely to baseless disparagement and false claims in the future."

While Lee Ha-neul's side expressed their grievances, the side of Ju BITRAIN held a different stance. BASS Studio stated, "Lee Ha-neul has not been able to advance any lawsuits against our representative or artist Ju BITRAIN over the past year, contrary to what he has continuously claimed. Therefore, there has not been a single instance of our officials being criminally charged due to Lee Ha-neul's lawsuit, and of course, they have not been investigated," adding, "Lee Ha-neul is spreading clear false information to the public, claiming that he has also sued representative Mr. Lee and Ju BITRAIN and that both sides are currently involved in a countersuit."

It further stated, "Furthermore, regarding that claim, an investigation into unjust dismissal was conducted with Lee Ha-neul's agency, Funkytown, and the final results from three labor institutions, including the Western District of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, Seoul Regional Labor Board, and the Central Labor Council, acknowledged none of Funkytown's claims due to lack of evidence and contradictory statements, even though our representative Mr. Lee has already won in all cases. However, Lee Ha-neul and his agency continue to spread false information, and we will disclose all relevant judgments."

Additionally, BASS Studio noted, "Our representative Mr. Lee has already won in all examinations conducted at three labor institutions, including the Western District of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, Seoul Regional Labor Board, and the Central Labor Council. Importantly, contrary to what Lee Ha-neul and Funkytown have repeatedly claimed through official statements, all allegations against Mr. Lee and Ju BITRAIN for 'fraud', 'embezzlement', 'destruction of electronic records', 'obstruction of business', and 'habitual drug offense' were dismissed."

"Moreover, the judges concluded that our representative Mr. Lee's claims and evidence were all valid, and the unjust dismissal relief review was concluded with unanimous agreement from all judges. Our representative Mr. Lee has already received financial compensation for the unjust dismissal from Funkytown," it added.

BASS Studio stated, "However, Funkytown, targeting the public who are unaware of these facts, released a false statement through an official statement claiming that 'the evidence submitted by Mr. Lee and Ju BITRAIN has been recognized as fabricated.' We express strong regret over Funkytown's repeated dissemination of false information, and the false statement released by Funkytown will serve as key evidence in the ongoing prosecution investigation against Lee Ha-neul. To clarify the facts, we will also release the judgment documents from the unjust dismissal relief review along with our official statement as evidence."

They demanded, "Furthermore, if a judgment document containing the assertion that 'the evidence submitted by Mr. Lee and Ju BITRAIN has been recognized as fabricated' truly exists, or if Funkytown won in the unjust dismissal relief review, we request that it be publicly disclosed to the media immediately." Moreover, BASS Studio stated, "Lee Ha-neul has been sued in total with 5 cases (based on case numbers) and about 8 charges by our representative Mr. Lee, all of which have been moved to the prosecution. Contrary to Lee Ha-neul's claims, there have been no instances of his lawsuits being filed against our officials so far."

Finally, BASS Studio pointed out, "Although Lee Ha-neul is the party in this matter, he appears to be avoiding responsibility by making malicious statements, repeating false claims on social media that he has 'already sued' or conducting a countersuit indirectly through his agency, as he is aware that if he personally proceeds with a lawsuit, he could be counter-sued for false accusations. We will closely observe whether Lee Ha-neul, as he confidently claimed, will directly proceed with a lawsuit himself."

Meanwhile, Lee Ha-neul and Ju BITRAIN have been engaged in a truth war since June of last year over claims of unjust dismissal and drug allegations. At that time, the representative of Ju BITRAIN's agency, BASS Studio, stated that Lee Ha-neul was sued for defamation by spreading false information. The main content was that Lee Ha-neul falsely accused Ju BITRAIN of habitual drug use, leading to his unjust dismissal from Funkytown.

In response, Lee Ha-neul's agency Funkytown rebuffed, "Ju BITRAIN and Mr. Lee were dismissed from Funkytown for reasons including unsatisfactory work attitude and other concerns. We have filed a criminal complaint with the Mapo Police Department against the two employees on charges of fraud, embezzlement, destruction of electronic records, obstruction of business, and obstruction of business using deception, and investigations are ongoing. Additionally, we are conducting legal reviews as additional issues are discovered and will take legal action as soon as they are confirmed."

[Photo] OSEN DB, SNS

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