Popular South Korean singer Kang Daniel, who rose to fame as part of the boy band Wanna One, established his own talent agency, KONNECT Entertainment, in 2019. However, on May 20th, the company announced that Kang Daniel had fallen victim to shareholders’ fraudulent misappropriation of company and personal funds. Today, reports have emerged stating that KONNECT Entertainment has ceased operations, with its artists and staff members all departing.
Kang Daniel’s former agency, LM Entertainment, reportedly transferred rights from his exclusive contract to a third-party without his consent in the past. Kang Daniel sought legal intervention to halt the exclusive contract and was granted approval. Following this incident, he founded his own agency, KONNECT Entertainment, in June 2019.
In July 2021, KONNECT Entertainment signed a domestic management contract with CL, a former member of 2NE1 and founder of the personal label Very Cherry, to oversee her activities in South Korea. In August, they finalized a contract with singer-producer Chancellor. Furthermore, Yuju (Choi Yu-na), a former member of the popular South Korean girl group GFRIEND, joined KONNECT Entertainment in September. In November 2022, the company also signed a contract with the street dance group, We Dem Boyz (WDBZ).
However, KONNECT Entertainment announced yesterday that a major shareholder had embezzled over 2 billion Korean won (approximately 51.78 million new Taiwanese dollars / 1.59 million US dollars) and forged contracts totaling 10 billion Korean won (approximately 2.6 billion new Taiwanese dollars / 769,000 US dollars) in Kang Daniel’s name. Kang Daniel has since filed a criminal lawsuit against the shareholder for suspected document forgery, corruption, malpractice, infringement of communications, and fraud, preparing to take legal action.
Today, “STAR NEWS” reported that Chancellor, Yuju, and We Dem Boyz under KONNECT Entertainment have terminated their contracts and left the company. Additionally, more than 20 staff members have officially left the company, and KONNECT Entertainment’s website, now an empty shell of a company, has become inaccessible.
According to “JOY NEWS,” aside from the departures of over 20 staff members and the disposal of the company’s registered official vehicles, KONNECT Entertainment’s office in Seoul’s Gangnam-gu district was fully cleared earlier this year.
Furthermore, as the founder of the company and one of its artists, Kang Daniel’s contract with KONNECT Entertainment is set to conclude in early June. It is anticipated that he will not renew the contract, relinquish his position as director, and depart from the company.