SEOUL, May 3 — South Korean police have placed a travel ban on a Japanese trainee of a K-pop boy group on fraud charges, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Seoul Yeongdeungpo Police Station recently banned the trainee from leaving South Korea after the group’s management agency had filed a complaint over his having previously signed with another company.

According to police and the agency, the man, whose identity is being withheld, walked out on a six-member boy group last December, two months ahead of its debut, citing “broken trust”.

The group had already shot a music video and released its first single on streaming platforms. 

The agency had also unveiled all six members of the group, which is currently working as a quintet sans the Japanese member.

The agency belatedly learnt that the missing member had already signed a deal with another management company, but he reneged on his commitment with that company as well.

“He had signed with Korean agencies and made them spend large amounts of money on him, and then gone missing just before his groups were about to make their debuts,” the agency that filed the police complaint said.

“Smaller agencies may not pursue legal action in these instances because doing so can be time-consuming and costly, and this person is taking advantage of that.”

That company claimed that the Japanese man’s disappearance incurred estimated damage of about 57 million won (US$38,590; RM153,669), including costs for training, choreography, recording, music video filming and rent for the group’s residence.

Police believe the Japanese person is still in South Korea at present.

According to the Korea Creative Content Agency (KCCA), 42 out of 963 K-pop trainees were foreign nationals at the end of 2024. 

The KCCA noted K-pop agencies are shouldering increased responsibility for managing foreign members’ careers and providing legal protection for them. — Bernama-Yonhap