Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
A lot has gone down in the scandal involving The East Light and Media Line Entertainment, the most recent of which being that Lee Seok Cheol released an audio recording of their CEO Kim Chang Hwan. LSC did this because after his press conference in which he detailed the horrific abuse he and his brother suffered, KCH denied knowledge of the situation. Well now the CEO is disputing the authenticity of the audio recording that was released altogether.
CEO Kim Chang Hwan stated that the voice in the audio recording is fake. He said, “The other four members of The East Light will prove that I did not hit the members or just stood by and watched.
Furthermore, the agency has tried to essentially argue that Lee Seok Cheol bore some responsibility for the beatings, insinuating that he was asking for them or deserved them. Thankfully, the lawyer of LSC and Lee Seung Hyun has squashed this, reiterating that all types of weapons were used to abuse them and he provided evidence of it, then he dismissed the attempts at smearing his clients.
On October 21, Jung Ji Seok, the lawyer representing brothers Lee Seok Cheol and Lee Seung Hyun, refuted the statements made by Media Line Entertainment and its CEO Kim Chang Hwan. He stated, “A part of the media’s debate for the truth is wrong.” He also emphasized, “The essence of this situation is that producer Moon habitually abused The East Light’s members for about four years, starting around March 2015 up until now. He inflicted wounds using various [weapons] including a baseball bat, a metal microphone, and an iron handlebar.” Additionally, the attorney revealed photographic evidence of the injuries sustained on Lee Seung Hyun’s head, arms, calves, and buttocks. Jung Ji Seok also responded to the recent report that the reason the agency had removed Lee Seung Hyun from the group was his character. The agency had cited an incident in which Lee Seung Hyun allegedly glared at producer Moon Young Il and told him, “Please don’t talk if you’re a person who hits people.” The lawyer remarked, “A debate for the truth is only a frame to distort the essence of the issue. [The agency] has even brought up the issue of Lee Seung Hyun’s character, and they are attempting to use false equivalence [as if both sides are partially in the wrong]. There is nothing that can justify abuse.”
The text messages between the father of the brothers and producer Moon Youngil and CEO Kim Chang Hwan don’t appear to reveal much (read them here) other than the fact that the father did confront the two about what was being done to his sons. However, it does show MYI apologizing to the father, though I don’t think anybody has denied MYI’s involvement in this yet.
——
Later on, it was then revealed that Lee Seok Cheol and Lee Seung Hyun would be filing a complaint against Moon Youngil and others that were involved in the abuse and assault they suffered through.
On October 22, the brothers’ lawyer stated, “Today at 11 a.m., we (Lawyer Jung Ji Suk from Nam Kang law firm) are going to file a complaint against Producer Moon Young Il and more on the violence case regarding The East Light’s members. The brothers’ father, who is their legal representative, will submit the files while Jung Ji Suk will accompany him.”
Remember when their CEO said that the other four members of the group would defend him? Well maybe they can speak freely now as those four have had their contracts terminated.
On October 22, the agency revealed through an official statement, “After deep consideration, we are announcing that we have decided on terminating the company’s contracts with the remaining four members of The East Light (Lee Eun Sung, Jung Sa Gang, Lee Woo Jin, and Kim Jun Wook).” The statement explains that the agency discussed with the four members and their parents on what the best choice would be, and originally a press conference was planned with the four members in attendance. The statement continues, “However, we had the concern of the young members receiving additional pain as they stand in the center of the issue through this press conference, and considering the members’ pain and futures as the priority, we reached the conclusion that terminating the four members’ contracts would be the best measure. We are discussing the contract termination process with the four members’ parents.” Media Line Entertainment adds, “We worry about the members feeling uncertainty for their futures with the termination of the contracts, but we ask for your support so that the young members can no longer be hurt and dream again after healing their pains. In addition, as the controversy continues to grow and is brought to attention continuously, we will not take unnecessarily respond to press in consideration of the potential pain of the six members including the brothers (Lee Seok Chul and Lee Seung Hyun).”
Well the company changed their tune rather quick.
As far as the investigation goes, they say they’ll be cooperating.
“Also, we will diligently participate in the upcoming legal investigation, and in this process, we will not avoid responsibility and address problems. We sincerely request that the speculative reports without investigation results that can cause pain to the members will no longer be released from this time forth,” the statement concludes.
Everybody can agree what happened to Lee Seok Cheol and Lee Seung Hyun (and maybe the other four members of The East Light) is horrific. Fortunately for them, unlike in many other cases like this, it does not seem like anybody involved is disputing it happened, nor is the public. The only things being contested so far is the level of abuse and assault they had to suffer through and the level of culpability of their CEO and the others around them. Nothing else to say, just hoping they get justice and get compensated.
