One Hundred / Big Planet Made unpaid-settlement dispute
From the second half of 2025, artists at One Hundred, led by Cha Ga-won, and its affiliate Big Planet Made Entertainment (BPM) said settlement payments had stopped. In February 2026 nine members of The Boyz gave notice of termination, followed in March and April by VIVIZ, Lee Seung-gi, Lee Mu-jin and others. Courts granted injunctions for The Boyz in April and for VIVIZ and Lee Mu-jin in June, finding breaches of the duty to pay. The companies argued that signing bonuses had been generous or that outside factors were to blame; the courts did not accept this.
Fact Claim Disputed Rumor Not true
Issue 1: Do unpaid settlements end a contract?
The artists argued that unpaid settlements breach a core duty of an exclusive contract, and courts accepted this at the injunction stage. In The Boyz case the court combined unpaid settlements, failure to provide accounts and failure to provide management and protection, finding trust irreparably broken; in the VIVIZ case it found each member was owed over 100 million won.
An injunction is a temporary order suspending the contract until a main ruling. Main suits and mediation are still pending.
4,5,6Issue 2: The companies' arguments and the courts' view
One Hundred argued it had paid The Boyz substantial signing bonuses, but the court said bonuses and settlements are separate clauses and nothing allowed one to substitute for the other. BPM said an outside takeover attempt and press reports about Cha Ga-won made payment difficult; the court said those circumstances had nothing to do with the artists.
1,4,5Issue 3: Who owns the group name?
VIVIZ is the trio of former GFRIEND members Eunha, SinB and Umji, relaunched at BPM in 2022. Although they have moved to a new company, continuing to use the name 'VIVIZ' requires agreement with the former agency, and UNCORE says it is considering a new name if talks fail. Whether members can keep a company-held group name after leaving is a recurring question in K-pop.
8,9Note: Cha Ga-won's criminal case
Cha was indicted and detained in August 2026. The charges concern an advance received for an artist-IP business and a housing deposit; unpaid artist settlements themselves are not part of the indictment. There is no conviction.
7Timeline
- Fact The Boyz moved from IST Entertainment to One Hundred.1
- Claim According to The Boyz's side, settlement payments stopped from around this time.1
- Claim According to VIVIZ, BPM paid its last settlement about a month late around this time and then stopped paying.3
- Claim VIVIZ said BPM unilaterally cancelled a planned album and that first-half fan meetings were also cancelled.3
- Fact Nine members of The Boyz, all except New, notified One Hundred of contract termination.1,4
- Claim One Hundred said it had paid substantial signing bonuses and rejected The Boyz's termination claim.1
- Fact Lee Seung-gi notified BPM of termination in late March; VIVIZ, Lee Mu-jin and BE'O also signaled termination, and BPM said no final conclusion had been reached.2
- Claim VIVIZ announced that its contract had been terminated as of March 4, citing unpaid settlements, lack of management support and broken trust.3
- Fact The Seoul Central District Court granted the nine The Boyz members' injunction, finding trust broken by unpaid settlements and failure to provide accounts.4
- Fact The Seoul Central District Court granted the three VIVIZ members' injunction, finding each was owed more than 100 million won.5
- Fact Lee Mu-jin's injunction was granted; on June 16 he had also filed a main suit over about 2.1 billion won in unpaid settlements.6
- Fact Prosecutors indicted and detained Cha Ga-won on aggravated fraud charges involving a 24.2-billion-won advance for an artist-IP business and a 5.4-billion-won housing deposit.7
- Fact The three VIVIZ members signed with UNCORE, which said talks with BPM over using the 'VIVIZ' name had not reached agreement because of differing views on conditions.8,9
- Fact A mediation session is scheduled in Lee Mu-jin's case.6
What people say — checked
The notice and the injunction were filed by nine members, excluding New.1,4
This is the company's position. In the injunction ruling the court rejected it, saying bonuses and settlements are separate; a main ruling is still pending.1,4
BPM made this argument in the VIVIZ case; the court said those circumstances were unrelated to the artists.5
The charges concern a 24.2-billion-won IP-business advance and a 5.4-billion-won housing deposit. The settlement issue is being handled as civil disputes.7
Why it's an issue
- r/kpop VIVIZ members (Eunha, SinB, Umji) have signed exclusive contracts with UNCORE + discussions with former agency ongoing over use of team name 2026-10-05 · 월간 30위
- 주요 매체 코리아타임스 «Artists flee over 'Cha Ga-won risk'» 등 국내외 보도 다수 2026-04-07 · 코리아헤럴드·SBS·머니투데이 등 2곳 이상
บทความที่เกี่ยวข้อง
Sources
- press The Korea Herald, The Boyz notify contract termination with One Hundred over unpaid settlements, 2026-03-19
- press The Korea Times, K-pop agency crisis deepens: Artists flee over 'Cha Ga-won risk' as Lee Seung-gi exits, 2026-04-07
- press 스타뉴스, 비비지 "빅플래닛, 정산금 안 줘" 전속계약 해지 통보..태민·이승기 따라 [전문], 2026-04-08
- press 뉴스핌, 더보이즈 9인, 전속계약 효력정지 가처분 인용…법원 "신뢰관계 파탄 인정", 2026-04-24
- press SBS, [단독] 비비지, 빅플래닛 상대 가처분 승소…법원 "정산금 미지급" 인정, 2026-06-07
- press 머니투데이, 이무진, 빅플래닛 상대 21억원 '전속계약 해지' 소송…조정 회부, 2026-09-14
- press 아시아경제, 검찰, '300억 사기 혐의' 차가원 원헌드레드 대표 구속기소, 2026-08-26
- press 노컷뉴스, Eunha, SinB, and Umji leave BPM, sign exclusive contracts with UNCORE… 'VIVIZ' team name under discussion, 2026-10-05
- press SPOTV뉴스, "어떤 이름으로든"…새출발 알린 비비지, '팀명 기로' 보다 중요한 건[초점S], 2026-10-09
How this article was made: read official statements, court/regulator records and at least two independent outlets; community posts are used only as attention signals. Written by Hallyu Wiki editors with AI assistance — check the sources. ขอแก้ไข