Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
In one of the more bizarre stories in K-pop, it was reported that a trainee slated for debut allegedly went AWOL from his company prior to debut and is now on the run from his agency and authorities as they seek to press fraud charges against him.
Seoul police have imposed an exit ban on a Japanese K-pop trainee accused of fraud after he allegedly disappeared just months before his group’s debut.
According to local news reports on Sunday, the Seoul Yeongdeungpo Police Station is investigating the trainee following a complaint filed by his agency.
The trainee went missing in December, about two months before he was set to debut as part of a six-member boy group. He reportedly left behind a message saying, “Trust has been broken,” before cutting off contact.
According to the agency, at the time, the group had already completed filming its music video and released its member profiles. The group ultimately debuted as a five-member act without him.
The agency estimated its damages at 57.43 million won ($39,000), including training expenses, song and choreography production, recording fees, music video production, and living costs such as meals and housing.
Police believe the trainee is still in South Korea and are tracking his whereabouts.
The agency initially attempted to move past the incident, but later pursued legal action after discovering the trainee had signed with another agency, according to local reports.
The prevailing opinion is that the circumstances match with HOWLING Entertainment and former CHASER member Masaya.
On December 1, the day after CHASER made their non-debut debut with “Sweet Like Sugar” — which included Masaya’s vocals — the agency said he was absent from promotions for it due to health reasons. A month later to start 2026, they released another statement saying he couldn’t continue activities due to personal reasons and CHASER would continue as five. The circumstances match almost exactly as the article describes, to the point where I figured putting the speculation in the title was warranted.
Then again, as recently as yesterday, he was dropping TikToks on his personal account.
@masaya_at 마지막이 재밌으니까 끝까지 봐줘 👀ㅎㅎ @&TEAM #dance #kpop #andteam #weonfire ♬ som original – N2
Hell of a thing to do if you’re sorta on the run from authorities, though really maybe seeing these is what sent the company over the edge.
If it is CHASER, then I’d be interested to hear the reasoning for him leaving since the company themselves abruptly cut two other members in October right before debut while adding Masaya (who was popular on TikTok).
