Hyeme And Black Swan's Agency Respond To Fraud Accusations And Plan Legal Action

Black Swan’s agency DR Music has responded after Hyeme was accused of fraud.

Hyeme debuted with the girl group Rania in 2015, and after many lineup changes, the group recently re-debuted as Black Swan and released their album “Goodbye Rania” on October 16.

On November 9, Dispatch reported that Hyeme was facing a lawsuit over accusations of defrauding a man (referred to as “A”) out of about 50 million won (approximately $44,800). He reportedly filed a criminal complaint against Hyeme on October 26.

A stated that he met Hyeme through social media in December 2018, and they exchanged direct messages on Instagram before meeting in person. In April 2019, Hyeme reportedly brought up her financial concerns due to a family problem and asked A to lend her 5 million won (approximately $4,500).

It’s reported that Hyeme went on to ask for more support from A, including money for her to live in her own officetel (a type of studio apartment) instead of the group’s dorm. A stated that he has spent a total of around 50 million won on Hyeme, including the loan of 5 million won, the deposit and monthly rent for her officetel, living expenses, and purchases on a credit card he provided. A said that they were not dating and there had been no physical relationship between himself and Hyeme, telling Dispatch that he hoped Hyeme would achieve success as a singer and felt sorry that she was unable to focus on music because of money issues.

The report went on to say that Hyeme had spent most of the money on entertainment expenses and alleged that Hyeme had used the officetel for secret dates with other men. In March, A reportedly asked Hyeme to pay him back the 5 million won loan, and she said she would. He stated that in May, he went to her apartment and told her to move out and pay back the rent. It’s reported that Hyeme went on to change her phone number and vacate the apartment, and she has not been in contact with A.

On November 10, DR Music issued a statement addressing the claims with quotes from Hyeme herself. The statement refers to Hyeme as a former member of Black Swan and shares that she has appointed DR Music’s legal advisor to take legal action against A for intimidation, sexual harassment, and defamation due to the spread of malicious false information.

DR Music went on to share that the agency also decided to take all possible legal action against A and the news outlet that first published a report for obstruction of business and defamation, and for a correction to the report, describing that it had a terrible impact on Black Swan’s promotions.

DR Music stated, “We are very taken aback by the unexpected case of Hyeme’s fraud lawsuit. We are very sorry for the unintended controversy.” They added, “After checking with Hyeme, we have found that the facts were distorted in the first report and there were many parts that were extremely exaggerated.”

Hyeme said through DR Music, “First, I apologize for doing a disservice to the agency and fans due to my careless behavior.”

She then said that rather than meeting through social media, A and Hyeme had met when she was briefly a broadcast jockey on afreecaTV and he had supported her with many “star balloons” (monetary donations). She explained, “I met him out of gratitude, with no other meaning to it. However, A came to the officetel where I was staying and told me while drinking alcohol that he wanted to be my boyfriend and made excessive requests, such as requesting sex, and so I had to avoid him. Apart from the borrowing of 5 million won, most things were voluntarily provided by A himself. This includes the credit card as well. He invaded my privacy by coming to my home without even contacting me, but I did not agree to his sexual requests.”

She continued, “Also, I clearly expressed my intention to pay back the borrowed 5 million won after November, and I avoided contact with him because I was scared as a woman about continued requests for sex or suggestions that we meet up. I never committed fraud or avoided him out of malicious intent. Since our promotions began, I can’t ‘disappear’ anyway. I will reveal all the details of the truth through the lawsuit.”

Hyeme stated, “I will not stand for how he described me as a strange woman by saying that I used the officetel to meet men for secret dates. I have a witness and evidence that will prove this is not true.”

DR Music also wrote that Hyeme is no longer under the agency, explaining that she had been under contract as a member of Rania since 2015 and her contract ended on November 7 after promoting with Black Swan for their debut song. They continued, “Although the company has no duty to respond since this is a personal matter, we are going to actively help Hyeme. This irresponsible malicious report tarnished a project that had been launched after so much effort, but we will not stand idly by.”

The agency added that Black Swan is temporarily halting their official activities as of November 11.

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