K-pop boy band The Boyz announce contract termination with agency over unpaid settlements
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Members of The Boyz with digital creator JRE (front row, third from left).
PHOTO: OFFICIAL_THEBOYZ/INSTAGRAM
SEOUL – The Boyz have notified their agency One Hundred Label of the termination of their exclusive contracts, citing unpaid settlement payments, the K-pop boy band’s legal representative said on March 19.
According to law firm Yulchon, all members except New informed the South Korean entertainment management company in February that they would terminate their contracts because of “material breaches of the exclusive agreement and an irreparable breakdown of trust”.
“The artistes notified One Hundred Label of the termination of their exclusive contracts on Feb 10, 2026, citing serious violations of the agreement and the resulting irreparable damage to mutual trust,” said The Boyz’s lawyer at Yulchon. “Accordingly, the contracts have been lawfully terminated and are no longer in effect.”
The legal representative said the agency had failed to pay settlement earnings for activities conducted since July 2025, following payments made for the second quarter of that year.
“In addition, despite multiple requests from the artistes to review basic documents, including contracts, to verify the transparency of settlements, the agency refused without justifiable reason. This constitutes a failure to fulfil the fundamental obligations of a management company under the exclusive contract.”
The statement also alleged that One Hundred Label failed to properly support essential expenses related to the artistes’ entertainment activities and had delayed payments to on-site staff for several months.
Despite the dispute, The Boyz said they would proceed with previously scheduled activities to avoid harming third parties, including business partners and collaborators. The group are set to hold a concert at KSPO Dome in Seoul’s Olympic Park from April 24 to 26.
One Hundred Label, however, rejected their claims later the same day, stating that it could not accept the request for contract termination.
“The contracts were signed on the premise that all members would fulfil the agreed contract period as a single team, and substantial signing bonuses were paid accordingly,” the agency said in a statement on March 19.
It added that this premise had been undermined by a series of controversies involving members in 2025, which led to a member leaving the group and made group activities difficult.
“Despite these challenges, the company has worked to maintain the group’s activities by persuading affected partners and absorbing significant financial losses,” the agency said.
The Boyz debuted in December 2017 as a 12-member group. After Hwall left in 2019, the group continued with 11, before becoming a 10-member act following Ju Haknyeon’s departure in 2025 amid a personal controversy.
In November 2024, the group left IST Entertainment, the agency that originally formed them, and signed with One Hundred Label, a company established by rapper-producer MC Mong and PIA Group chairman Cha Ga-won. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
