Last week, 2PM released their track for yet another CF, this time for OPPO Mobile. The song is called Follow Your Soul and the music video teaser has just been released!
The teaser is about 40 seconds long and looks like there’s going to be a cute love story line. But it seems they’ll also be dancing in a dark background with neon lights in the background, kind of like their old Again & Again music video.
2PM is still going through a lot of drama because of the fans that turned their back on their favorite group after finding out about Jaebeom’s contract termination.
On March 2nd in Seoul SangSungDong Bailey House, 2PM and fans held an event called “First Love.” The event was organized by Paris Baguette to cheer on students who were starting a new year of school.
Fans were probably surprised to see all six boys smiling brightly where they showed up on schedule to meet with fans and had a good time. This was also the first time that 2PM appeared as a group in public after what happened in the last few days.
The event was split up into two parts. The first part featured a baker’s lesson on none other than baking. The second part featured the members of 2PM where all six of them started to make their own cake. After making their cakes, they then took pictures with fans who still seemed to be loyal to end the event.
JYP Entertainment released an official statement today, saying that they are going to legal authorities concerning the attacks against the six members of 2PM.
After JYPE released a statement announcing that Jaebeom was officially no longer part of 2PM and held a fan conference to build on the fact, many Hottests turned their backs against the group. Some have gone so far as to find the members’ citizen registration numbers, which is equivalent of the social security number in the US, and using it illegally to exploit these young men. Due to these serious attacks on the members by ex-Hottests, JYPE has announced that they have no choice but to contact the police concerning this matter.
Using another person’s citizen registration number is a serious criminal offense in Korea, and those caught could serve up to three years of jailtime or a 10 million won (~$10,000 USD) fine.
Below is is the statement that JYPE made on 2PM’s official fancafe.
“After announcing on February 25th that Jaebeom would be no longer a part of 2PM, a few netizens started to attack the six members by saying inappropriate things and spreading rumours about them. We have talked to the six members to figure out how to deal with the problem, but decided that we need to understand the fans who have been notified of something that they cannot easily accept. The members said that they will handle their personal feelings better in future and be warmer in their approaches to the fans.
Some have however illegally obtained personal information about the six members including their citizen registration number and have been distribution and misusing those information. In order to protect the members, we had no choice but to approach the police for the six members on this matter.”
We would like to thank the fans who are supporting the six members in a time like this.”
It’s shocking how far these people will go to hurt people they don’t personally know. Do you think these people’s actions are justified or have they gone too far?
Regarding JYPE’s fan conference about 2PM and Jaebeom’s termination, we at allkpop previously reported what was said during the conference by translating Oneday Room (a Korean fan community)’s summary of the event. However, it appears that this summary neglected some important points, so we decided to listen to the entire four-hour conference ourselves, transcribe then translate it into English with absolutely everything included.
If you have any doubts about the accuracy & objectivity of this transcript and would like to judge the audio yourself, you can download the full audio file of the conference to follow the discussion and verify the transcript’s details however you’d like.
Because our transcript is extremely long, we’ve divided it into segments; here is part one, which covers the first 58 minutes.
Host: Everyone’s faces or identity will not be filmed. It will be filmed from where 2PM members will be sitting, and voices will obviously get recorded, but nobody will be filmed. The conference will start in 3-4 minutes when the members enter.
Fan: I have a question. Is JYPE going to distribute filmed material for media to use?
Host: As you know, this event is not open to media…
Fan: (interrupts) What I want to ask is, since this event is not open to media, is the video filmed by JYPE going to be distributed to media for use and if JYPE’s video is going to be distributed then…
Host: (interrupts) You’re talking about editing and…
Fan: (finishes off what she was saying) …distributed like that.
Host: I will let you know after clarifying this with others. Please wait.
(Sound of fans sneering)
Fan: Would you not film this if we refused filming?
Host: To answer the first question, you were talking about us editing this or distributing it to media; we’re not filming this to give it to the media.
(Sound of fans talking)
Fan: Can you take responsibility to what you just said?
Fan: Are you sending this to Jaebeom?
Fan: I heard you say you’re filming this to prevent accidents? What accidents are you talking about?
Host: All questions right now are about JYPE filming this event so if you give me bit of time then I will prepare answers for your questions. Please wait.
Fan: So you’re hosting this event without even knowing anything about filming?
Multiple fans: What is the point of filming?
Host: (tries to calm fans down) Ok. The filming was to take place for next two or three or four hours depending on how things go (sound of fans sneering); the video was for both parties to use as a reference, not for us to distribute to media, or to edit and make it say what we want, but there seems to be confusion about the matter so we will decide to not film the event as we were originally planning to.
Multiple Fans: Ok.
Host: To enforce this, please wrap up your cameras. Since guests [conference attendees / Hottests] are concerned we will start without it.
(Sound of fans talking)
(Sound of fan asking questions, hard to make it out)
Host: Because our guests are here today, thinking many similar things…
Fan: (interrupts) What we want to ask is if the company is going to film this, we want the right to freely film this event as well.
Host: Again, because we have you, our guests here today; many of you have similar ideas but regarding filming, as I said there may be parts where people might become concerned about later, so we were going to use video as reference. We weren’t going to film the video for media to use but some of our guests have different ideas and are talking about filming themselves, but since it’s hard to unify the voices of everyone here today so…
Fan: (interrupts) Since we do not have many fans here today, why don’t we just vote…
Host: (interrupts) So you would like to vote? But you’re a guest with an idea slightly different from others…
Fan (interrupts): If we unified our idea then would you let us film?
Host: For us to film the event for reference, then we need everyone to say that we can, but guests seem to have different ideas here today, saying if the company was to film then fans want to film as well. What I said before (sound of fans talking) excuse me, the fans seem to have different ideas but what we could all use is as we agreed on, not to film anything and we agreed on that so we decided to go that way (sound of fans talking) if that is the opinion of the majority then (sound of fan asking a question, hard to make out) as I said before, our guests seem to have disagreements but the majority opinion seems to not want the company to film for reference so we will pack up our camera and not do any filming. We were planning on filming because some words could be interpreted wrongly and such, but since our guests are concerned about the matter and since our concern was not a big deal, we will exclude filming of the event, and, when talking about this event later or reading about it, we will consider our 80, 90 guests here as witnesses and each one of you as a camera.
Fan: So is that confirmation saying there is no limitation to us recording this event for references? That is what we want. We want to make something for references as well; can’t just trust everyone here as being a camera and we need to leave a reference so…
Host: (interrupts) What you are saying right now is as I was saying before; this is where our guests seem to have disagreement, asking if it is okay to film, then (sound of fans talking) (rep sighs) our fans seem to be having a disagreement.
Multiple fans: What about both parties do it?
Fan: (angry voice) If JYPE films, we’ll film. If JYPE audio-records, we’ll audio-record. Both sides should have equal rights…
Multiple fans: (frustrated voice) He said he won’t do it.
Host: To summarize, we are sorry but for filming, we have a camera to film for references. As you notice, we have no media in here; our guests thought that was one-sided of us so we will not film and since we have 80, 90 guests here and every one of you…
Fan: (interrupts) What we demand is not to film or not film, is JYPE going to film and send it to media…
Host: (interrupts) Because of such concerns we decided not to film this.
Multiple fans: Do it if you want.
Multiple fans: Why don’t both parties film?
Host: Our guests have come to conference today, and we need some basic rules in order to host this, and to say this again we have 80-90 people here and every one of your opinions matter to us, but if we somewhat reach an agreement then that will be the path we take in terms of hosting. Filming on our side, which was your concern, will not be done and we will only use communication for hosting without any filming done by both parties.
Multiple fans: Ok.
Host: I apologize but hosting is a bit tough and it is important to host communication between our fans, 2PM members and those that represent the company. So I know a couple guests have brought cameras, but due to multiple concerns, when we are hosting something within the company, such as the Wonder Girls conference we just had where we had fans send representatives we…
Fan: (interrupts and asks a question but cannot make out)
Host: Again, there will not be any filming.
Multiple Fans: Ok.
Host: Many are here but I will consider that all of you are agreed on this and will continue on.
Multiple Fans: Yes.
Fan: Please clearly tell us in detail how you picked fans who are here today.
Host: It was notified but since 2PM debuted there were many communities. In our standards we picked communities who could be said to represent the fandom, from the fans’ perspective, and picked from those. We did not give a quota per community or hand-pick communities. We took recommendations from those that can be said to represent the community and brought about one hundred, and I believe about 90 are here today. We did not hand pick people or community. So in order to move on…
Fan: (interrupts, something about 12 communities)
(Sound of fans talking)
Fan: We want to know more about this “representation”.
Fan: Let me tell you something I don’t know. First you said you notified about picking one hundred, but you didn’t. Also, one community was told to submit list of people they wanted to bring to JYPE but they didn’t, but they ended up getting in anyways and was told to just bring officers. How do you explain that?
(Sound of fans sneering)
Host: Guests are asking questions, but what is it that you are concerned the most about 90 people who are present today? Are you concerned that the company handpicked communities or individuals or…
Fan: (interrupts) You need to reveal the names of communities that are present.
(Multiple fans agreeing to that)
Host: So could I move on after that?
Multiple fans: Yes.
Host: Please hold on a moment.
(Sound of fans talking)
Host: Due to unified concerns of our guests we will talk about the 12 communities then start the conference right after that.
(Sound of fans talking)
Female voice: I will announce communities that are here today. I accepted these communities, even if the communities had very few people. I will announce the names. (Announces names of communities that are present)
Host: I will consider that to answer your questions and go ahead with the conference.
(Sound of fans talking)
Fan: (asks a question but hard to make it out)
Host: We are not thinking of limiting this to an hour or two. Since we have many guests here we’re taking questions freely but try to keep them from being repetitive. There won’t be time limit so no limiting length or questions or answers, or prohibition of people to ask questions. Again, there are many guests here today so please refrain from asking repetitive questions or from one guest asking multiple questions.
Fan: Why are only 2PM members here?
Host: (interrupts) We will move on with only the members for now, and I will explain that later. Since members are here now they’ll say hello and move on.
2PM: Hello, we’re 2PM.
(Sound of fans sneering)
Fan asking question (Q): According to a statement by JYPE, six members of 2PM agreed upon Jaebeom’s termination on January 6th. Any disagreement or concerns with the statement? I would like an answer from all members.
Host: I apologize, but as I mentioned before there is no filming so if you have a…
Q: (interrupts, irritated voice) Do not give them time to think, please answer right away…
Host: (interrupts) Then I will say it after answering these questions. Here is the last announcement for those that are audio-recording. This was agreed by both parties before…
Multiple fans: (irritated voice) We won’t do it.
Q: Please answer.
Junsu: I will go first. Yes, it is correct.
(Sound of fans talking)
Q: Nichkhun, please answer.
Nichkhun: Yes, it is correct.
Chansung: Yes.
Taecyeon: Yes, it is correct.
Junho: Yes, it is correct.
Wooyoung: Yes.
New Q: I want the six members to talk about their honest feelings. I want to know if you all consider Jaebeom to be unfit for leader or member of group 2PM. An official statement says that Jaebeom was considered unfit to be the leader due to personal wrongdoing and you all agreed upon his termination because he needs to be morally responsible for his actions. Members agreed on that matter on January 6th. But after that, a member called Jaebeom a good brother and said he missed him on February 14th. Also, someone said Jaebeom was a jewel on a TV show, not to mention the “us seven” remarks. All those things were said after you all decided that Jaebeom was unfit. Then can we consider these statements to be saying that you are not concerned about Jaebeom’s morality and are only concerned about his abilities? Also, such comments about Jaebeom after a decision has been made appear to be telling lies to and deceiving fans. Then aren’t moral levels of the six members questionable also? I will ask again. When reflecting on moral levels of each member, do you really think Jaebeom is unfit to be a member of 2PM?
Taecyeon: Yes.
(Sound of fans sneering)
Q: All members must answer.
Junsu: Yes. I think he is unfit.
Multiple fans: Go on.
Q: I want answers from all members.
(Sound of irritated fans)
Q: (raises voice) Answer!
Nichkhun: Yes.
(Sound of fans demanding that the member explain his answer)
Q: Let me summarize the question for you, since you don’t seem to understand such difficult words. You all agreed on Jaebeom quitting and being terminated from 2PM on January 6th. But after that, you continued to deceive fans by commenting on him. What was the reason behind that? Aren’t you just using fans to make money, and if so, do you all really have rights to ask for love from the fans, and if so, then don’t you ever question your own morality? No yes or no, explain your thoughts.
Taecyeon: Not deceiving but more of not being able to make a decision ourselves. We made an agreement but Jaebeom was still our member and we still think of him as a good friend.
(Sound of fans sneering)
Q: (interrupting a member trying to speak) He is unfit but he is a good friend? Are you all saying that Jaebeom has moral problems but since he can rap and sing and do something he is good in terms of his abilities?
Taecyeon: I didn’t say he is a good friend in terms of his abilities, we really think Jaebeom is a good friend but since he did something wrong we cannot accept him.
(A fan tries to ask a question but host interrupts her)
Q: I want answers from all members. Taecyeon seems to be speaking for the team…
(The fan tries to ask a question again but the host keeps interrupting her)
Junsu: I will answer. Our fans must be wondering what Jaebeom did to cause such problems…
Q: (interrupts) No. I don’t want to know about his personal life, I want to talk about marketing that uses him.
Junsu: We were with Jaebeom during Again and Again and I Hate You, and even before that. So we said we thank Jaebeom when we got awards but really, when we heard of the news we thought it would be hard for Jaebeom to be 2PM’s leader anymore so that is why we made a decision.
Fan: Are you joking? Really, do you think you’re telling a joke?
Multiple fans: We want to hear from other members.
Nichkhun: What I said during the fan meeting was because I really missed Jaebeom so I said that but as we said Jaebeom couldn’t come because of what happened.
(Sound of fans sneering)
Q: Got to tell us about him not being able to come.
Nichkhun: (mumbles)
Multiple fans: Speak in English.
Host: This is a tough question and as you know, his Korean isn’t 100% so he could speak in English if you could excuse him since his Korean isn’t 100% and bad choice of vocabulary could end up not well so regarding that we will do what you want. Chansung, please speak.
Chansung: I think, a friend who is really close and is like a family member made a mistake and, I’m just saying for example here, did something bad but I don’t think it is right to talk badly about his morality or anything. I mean, even thieves have really close friends.
(Sound of fans sneering)
Fan: Is Jaebeom a thief?
Chansung: I was saying…
Fan: What a dumbass.
Chansung: So what I think is that you must be asking why did we say those things after what happened to Jaebeom, but we could say those things because he is still a good friend, and… (pause) what we’ve been saying, we could say we’re 7 and we miss him because what happened did not get announced yet and I think we can still say those. Like I miss him, he is a good friend.
(Fans laugh)
Fan: Wow, I’m getting a really good laugh out of this.
Junho: We know of course how hurt you all are. But what’s important is that I don’t think we used Jaebeom for marketing. When we were planning Heartbeat we did it wanting Jaebeom to come back and thinking he is coming back. Before January 6th, no, January 3rd, whatever program we were on or award show we were at we sang thinking about Jaebeom and him only. Really, that is not a lie. We have no reason to intentionally hurt you. I’m sure many of us miss the days when we were 7. We do too, by a lot. For us to come back like this we prepared a lot and Jaebeom practiced a lot in States and while watching videos of him dance we were thinking when he comes back, we’re going to be on the top. That is why we were giving you guys little hints, for example what I wrote in “thanks to” in our album.
Fan: Thanks to is thanks to.
Junho: But after we learned of what happened on January 3rd, even we hated him for a little while. We had made the path for him to come back…
Fan: Who made that path? We f*cking made that path.
(Sound of fans talking)
Junho: You all made the path. You made that with us. Isn’t that right?
(Sound of fans talking)
Host: Please wait until the answers are over to…
Fan: (interrupts) We cannot communicate if we keep on making reactions while a member is speaking.
(Sound of fans talking)
Fan: (continues on) We can’t hear the answers clearly and ask questions, so please do not react like this when members are answering questions.
Host: Junho, please continue.
Junho: Anyways, we all made the path. Not just the six of us but with the help from all of you. Thanks to all of you who love Jaebeom. Because we were making that path, we hated him when we heard that story and we were so sorry to you. We felt so sorry for fans who had faith in us. I was going crazy. We were together and couldn’t say anything. When we heard of what happened, all I could do is just think of the path we were making and was literally stunned for a while. If someone learns of what happened or you learn about what happened, you’d feel the same. We cannot talk about what happened because we respect Jaebeom. Those of you that are laughing, I know you think this is absurd. How do you think we felt when we heard the story? We thought you were our strength and Jaebeom’s strength so we valued you so much. I am so sad about what’s going on. You all spent about 2 years with Jaebeom. We spent from 3 to 5 years. That is why we were so sad. You might laugh at us but we are over that level, we are just plain going insane, because we can’t be with Jaebeom. The awards we received, we felt that we needed to really thank Jaebeom and all of you so we think we could mention him, at Seoul music awards that you are all concerned about.
Q: Wooyoung, please speak.
Wooyoung: I’m sorry but may I ask a question to guest who asked a question? Not only to you but everyone who are here today. Do you want us to answer just the questions you have prepared today, or do you want to just hear us talk seriously?
Multiple fans: Both.
Wooyoung: Serious talk should be answers to questions. Honestly, my heart is breaking down… (sighs) we came here today willing to invest the entire day and talk seriously with all of you. Please understand that our answers may get dragged on and we think this conference is valuable in that we can tell you our serious stories. We are really sad and heartbroken about what happened. In my case, I wasn’t good enough to be a member of 2PM, as you all know I lacked acrobatic skills or singing skills and thanks to Junho, Chansung, Taecyeon, Khun, Junsu and our leader Jaebeom I could be in 2PM. I was thankful of and felt sorry to our members each and every day because I was not good enough. We could do this together thanks to our trusty members. Even when we were hurt because of little things we tried to talk those out. Although we didn’t have any fans in the beginning but we tried and one by one we started getting those that would cheer us on. I felt really thankful and realized what it feels like to be proud. Every album we tried out best. Jaebeom can make mistakes but really, we might be able to forgive him since we trust him and you all might forgive him… yes, we forgive him. You heard it, right? We forgive Jaebeom. But we made such decision because… (pause) we are not the only ones in this world. Other countries and other nationalities. Living things. We are not the only ones in this world so we couldn’t just think about ourselves. Because we thought about others we started thinking into the future. Thought about we might feel really hurt now, but will we regret out decision in future? Those were our concerns. This decision left a crack between our fans and us. We do not want that, nor do we want a crack between Jaebeom and us. We prepared with all our heart and because of that the crack feels so wide. I spoke with all my heart but if you still feel the need to point fingers at us, please understand the feelings of us 7 of 2PM, that way we can be over this crack and together again. Those are my thoughts.
Junsu: It is obvious for you all to be angry and hate us. You all loved us so much but those kids made an absurd decision, so the words we say must be hateful and hurting. But as Junho said, think about how we would feel, and we did not give up on 2PM. We came to that decision regarding Jaebeom because we had no choice and it makes us sad. I dare say it is really sad. (raises voice) we made that decision because we had no choice but to. The reason we keep calling him a good friend is because he really is. It is above the level of something social or humane; even we can’t protect him from it. (sigh) Please understand us.
Nichkhun: It breaks my heart.
Junsu: The situation where you are angry and misunderstandings are being built, having to hold a conference is really tough. Things happen during lives. We will try our best in answering you today. Thank you.
New Q: Two questions. I would like to ask the members, when was the last time you contacted Jaebeom? What did you talk about? Does he know about this conference? Also, there are many rumours out there right now. This is really a question to the company, but to members, I heard one member was all for letting Jaebeom go and one was against it until the end. I also heard the company abandoned him because 2PM was fine without him, and admins of large fan communities are being bribed by the company. Such unspeakable rumors are out there. Members, are there any rumors you wish to explain? Company, do you plan on doing anything about these rumors/ When rumors spread they become reality and become accepted, so do you plan on doing anything about that? If the members have anything to talk about regarding the rumors, please speak up.
Taecyeon: On contacting Jaebeom, Khun texted him yesterday, to see if anything was up. They talked about the situation andon what happened online when the statement went out. Jaebeom knows of the conference. Regarding the rumours, there are lots of absurd rumors out there. Not even ones like who agreed and who disagreed, there are ones that shocked us and as Wooyoung said, we had no choice but to make such decision and there are many rumors out there but most them are made up. As statement revealed, we were waiting for him to come back starting in October and our album name was changed from “Heartbeat” to “1:59PM” because he was coming back. (sigh) It was all planned like that so abandoning him because the six of us were doing well is pretty absurd. If you have questions regarding other rumours then please ask again.
Host: You asked a question to JYPE too, but we will first let the fans and 2PM members have sufficient time to talk and later talk about questions you have for the company.
New Q: You said Jaebeom knows about the conference. Did he say anything about this?
Nichkhun: Jaebeom said he wanted to shoot some video with you, and said he is really sorry… and that’s it.
New Q: (angry voice) I would like to ask a question that is not on the questionnaire sheet. I believe I am the oldest fan here today. I am a mother with a son who is as old as the members. What I want to know is the rumor that everyone here knows of but cannot talk about. I’m sure all members know of it. Jaebeom is being talked of like a trash. You all know, right? You just can’t say it. He is like a human trash. Apparently what happened will have bigger social impact than the mistranslation that happened last year. It is already on the news. Personal problem with big social impact means termination? Reading the statement by the company, the problem is something everyone can gossip about. The members said we cannot accept him when considering not only us but what is being viewed to the society. We are fans who knew him for 2 years but you knew him for 4, 5 or 3 years and you just let go of his hand. I don’t know how big of a personal issue it is but he is a human trash on the Internet because of it. Members must know; you use the Internet daily. My son goes to the army next month. I am here today because this issue really doesn’t sound like someone else’s. I want to ask this. Jaebeom has to live his entire life with that issue haunting him unless a proper explanation is made. Wooyoung, did you say you didn’t abandon 2PM? You didn’t abandon 2PM, but the fans are about to. When a person’s heart meets with another’s then they can even accept enemies who killed their children. What kind of socially wrong thing did he do? Murder? Drugs? It was a moral slip not a criminal one. Why would he mention it to the company? I don’t know what kind of mistake he made but I don’t think this is right. On the Internet, Jaebeom is international trash. He is below human. That is all.
Taecyeon: Thank you. Who wants to answer?
Multiple fans: Everyone should.
Taecyeon: Everyone? I’m sorry; I couldn’t really hear the question.
Fan: Let me reiterate it for you.
Taecyeon: Yes, please.
Fan: (continuing on) So you don’t need to mention what Jaebeom did. But from your perspective, is Jaebeom’s wrongdoing something that is a problem because he is a celebrity or would it be a social problem even if he was not a celebrity.
Multiple fans: That’s not it…
Wooyoung: We are sorry to have made a decision when you were watching, and honestly, we are really hurt but we are still trying to make a smile. The reality hurts but, if we were to cry, we would look irresponsible. We think this is the way we can protect Jaebeom until the end. We think this is a social problem to the point where we can’t mention it or answer to your question. We can’t answer even in a conference like this where we are taking time to be hurt and question and answer. Heart and heart, that is important, faith. We think in a situation like this we can’t answer as a human and us 2PM, even in far future, until the end, until we die, we will try our best to not forget about us. Even when we get married and have kids, we won’t forget that we were 2PM, we are one. We don’t think this is the only way to defend Jaebeom. We’re not letting Jaebeom go. We are protecting him. But this is really social… (sigh) we can’t speak it with our own mouth. We are really sorry. We can say sorry because we are one and we didn’t abandon him from our heart. Please don’t misunderstand. Let’s make a promise. Not us six but us seven, and with everyone here, let us make a promise. (fans sneer) Whatever people say, we will defend him until the end. I thought that was the best we could do.
Host: So the questions are answered…
Multiple fans: (demands that the question be answered properly)
Wooyoung: Being a celebrity or not doesn’t matter. If you’re a human, if you’re a human… we can’t do much, really.
Multiple fans: (demands that the question be answered properly)
Fan: He is clueless.
Fan: Let me summarize the question for you. So you think he is a good friend but you don’t think he can be in 2PM and work with you. That was the question but you answer very vaguely.
Wooyoung: It is not vague but I can’t help it. There have been many questions and answers but there is only one answer. We made the decision because we really had no choice but to do so. I won’t ask you to understand us. We are heartbroken and it feels like facing the cold winter naked. This is tough, really.
New Q: Wooyoung mentioned that the decision was made for all 7 members of 2PM. The decision was made to protect Jaebeom but the words “personal life” were mentioned in the statement. That word is spawning many rumours so I want to know what you felt after reading the statement.
Wooyoung: The statement from our company?
Q: I’m not done yet. Also, you said it is a secret that you can take to the grave, but about criminal law…
(The fan mumbles and another fan takes over the questioning)
You said that what happened was a big problem and should not have happened. Criminal law exists to control such problems. If the problem is so large and socially wrong then it is a criminal matter, not social. Talk of morality was not even on the statement. Rumors popped up when the statement said “personal life,” and when few rumours became well-known you said that was not right, but I am really curious. What kind of problem is not criminal and only moral, but is large enough to cause this?
Taecyeon: I don’t believe we mentioned morality.
Wooyoung: Let’s say Jaebeom came back after committing a legal wrong. Would he be able to perform as 2PM? We might be able to forgive him, but the society might not. (fans yell out, he can take punishment) I said it is something that I can’t speak about. (fans yell out, he needs to receive punishment) Punish? (fans yell, yes) Punishment is for a court. We won’t punish him.
(Fans keep pointing things out and Wooyoung mumbles)
Junsu: You all are keep asking questions regarding what Jaebeom did. We’ve known Jaebeom for a long time, and we were questioning did Jaebeom really do that? It was that shocking. If you are here today because you love Jaebeom who used to be the leader of 2PM, please refrain from asking such questions. If you really love him.
That concludes the first 58 minutes of the conference. Stay tuned to allkpop for the second part.
A fan site that is currently protesting against leader Jaebeom’s departure from beast idol group 2PM, Underground, stated on March 1st, “We will do good things for Jaebeom while being his ‘right and left wings.’”
The site wrote,
“On February 25th when JYPE irresponsibly and unfairly declared Jaebeom’s permanent absence as a member of 2PM we said we would go against the company. By any means possible we wanted to return Jaebeom his repuatation that had become tarnished. However, for 6 months Jaebeom and his family members went through a hard time handling various hurtful rumors that had spread around. They no longer want Jaebeom to become an issue now, and are hoping that time will heal.”
In response to how Jaebeom’s family members felt, Underground has decided to respect their wishes. Fansite members feel frustrated and unfair towards the situation but believe that supporting what Jaebeom and his family wants is a part of a fan’s last act of love towards the ex-idol.
In addition, Jaebeom’s mother also spoke up about the issue and addressed fans,
“I want to send my thanks to all the fans. Please continue to keep an interest and watch Jaebeom once in a while. Despite all kinds of rumors that could more than cause a person to despair, our Jaebeom has shown us his normal self and allowed us to not despair but have hope. I thank all the fans again and pray that their hurt feelings caused from this issue will heal quickly. They have done so much.”
Meanwhile, the rest of the six 2PM members Taecyeon, Junsu, Junho, Nichkhun, Wooyoung and Chansung held an official meeting with fans on February 27th regarding Jaebeom’s permanent leave from 2PM. The fans where only able to exchange their thoughts on the issue but not have much impact on any of the decisions, which caused many to become angry and hold a protest in front of the JYPE office located at Seoul Chung Dam Dong.
And with that, this controversy has fulfilled Godwin’s Law…
Obviously, this isn’t an actual clip of Hitler, but rather a scene from the 2004 movie Der Untergang that has been parodized many times now for a variety of topics, from Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD to the iPad; one kpop fan even made a version for SNSD.
The whole controversy has become quite serious and is undoubtedly a sensitive topic for many, but it’s nice to see a little comic relief amidst the mess. Be honest – did this video lift your spirits, or at least make you quirk a smile?
And you thought it couldn’t get any worse – photos of 2PM have been pulled out by Hottests, revealing unexpected sides of the 2PM members that we didn’t know of beforehand.
As fans and readers know, 2PM’s Junsu made headlines last year when Thai performer Waii claimed to have been in a relationship then with the hottie, then broken up with him because of the public. This rumor was unofficially denied by a JYPE rep via Twitter (with hints of a lawsuit), but unearthed photos linking Waii to megastar Rain (an ex-JYPE artist) and CUBE Entertainment have cast a shadow of doubt on the whole matter. Junsu himself denied even knowing Waii, but this recently unveiled photo indicates otherwise:
Now, defenders can argue that we obviously don’t know for sure that this guy is Junsu, but this is pretty incriminating evidence.
Furthermore, a photo of what looks like a possibly intoxicated Taecyeon Seulong (2AM) and Wooyoung with some girls has been revealed:
Another photo has been unearthed, revealing 2PM’s (underaged) maknae Chansung allegedly drinking alcohol. These photos were supposedly taken in September 2006, making him sixteen at the time:
So why the sudden surge of unfortunate photos being released by 2PM fans of all people? It’s been said that many Korean Hottests kept these photos from being released to the public in order to protect 2PM; however, after the now-infamous Jaebeom conference (in which a rep unwisely asked fans why they hadn’t protected their idols), many damaging photos and quotes have been revealed.
It took four days for Jaebeom to go from one of Korea’s top idols to an exiled young man; it’s taken only three for 2PM (or 1:59PM, depending on your stance) to reach this low point in their careers. We can only imagine what will happen next and hope for the best.
This was coming, frankly.
Coming soon after all the controversy revolving around Jaebeom’s contract termination and the ensuing drama, 2PM’s Taecyeon and Wooyoung made their first public appearance on February 28th, hosting Inkigayo with f(x)’s Sulli.
All eyes were on them this afternoon and the duo did not appear too perturbed by events that has happened in the last 72 hours as they hosted the show with their usual bubbly selves, especially during interviews with Heechul, T-ara and Kara.
Straight after the show though, two camps of opinions surfaced on the bulletin boards of the Inkigayo website, over Taecyeon and Wooyoung’s appearance.
Some felt uncomfortable watching them hosting like nothing has happened at all and were behaving like normal. Others felt disappointment and betrayed and that it was uncomfortable to watch them. Those who were for them said that they can’t be looking sad for a live broadcast and some expressed that life must go on.
So what’s next for 2PM?
It’s a question that plagued us all last September when Jaebeom left Korea, and with the shocking conclusion to this entire mess six months later, it feels like we’re back to where it started.
Last fall, JYP Entertainment ceased all activities and kept the remaining six members out of the limelight for a while, but it’s been announced that 2PM will continue with all individual & group activities as planned. This includes appearances on Family Outing, Win Win, music shows and more.
It was earlier reported at the beginning of January that 2PM would be dropping an album in April, and it looks like they will continue preparing for this as scheduled. Because the World Cup begins in May, the album was set for April to optimize success. Although many fans believed that the recent Jaebeom contract announcement would disrupt the production process, JYPE & 2PM won’t be delaying activities at all, according to Hankook News.
Unlike in September, it looks like the support behind “6PM” is much weaker, and just might affect the group’s activities in the future.
A mix of emotions has arisen from Hottests due to the conference, an influx of reports (many of which are misleading & inaccurate) and the wonders of mob mentality. Ultimately, none of us really know what’s going on behind doors, so it’s best to step back & take a breather before jumping to conclusions about anything.
I don’t think anyone was expecting the aftermath of JYP Entertainment’s Jaebeom contract termination & conference to be mild in any regards, and it looks like the widespread impact is shaping up to be quite the movement.
It’s been revealed on Daum that twenty-six 2PM fansites have shut down in response to the recent happenings.
Take a look at the list yourself:
Manchan (Chansung) http://www.man-chan.com/
I like you (Wooyoung & Chansung) http://www.joahae.net/
Samdeudbo (Junso, Junho & Chansung) http://samdb.mireene.com/
Lee Junho Mansae (Junho) http://www.jh-bravo.net/
Deadline (Junho) http://www.dead-line.net/
To the K (Junsu) http://tothek.ivyro.net/
Tibet Wolf Wooyoung (우영) http://tibetfox.lovepc.net/
Busan Man (Wooyoung) http://www.jangwooyoung.xo.st/
Bitter Sweet (Wooyoung) http://jangwooyoung.ivyro.net/
WRbar (Wooyoung & Junho) http://www.junhology.com/
OK Taecyeon (Taecyeon) http://www.ok-taecyeon.com/
Catch You (Taecyeon) http://www.okcat.net/
Taecbum dot home (Taecyeon & Jay) http://taecbum.dothome.co.kr/
Curiousity (Taecyeon) http://www.2pmtaecyeon.com/
Above 5% (Taecyeon) http://notice.ivyro.net/etc/info4.ht★m
Sweet Taec (Taecyeon) http://sweetaec.mireene.com/
Ok K 1988 (Taecyeon & Junsu) http://www.1988.er.ro/
3 Musketeers (Jay, Wooyoung & Junho) http://www.2pm-3j.com/
Know (Nichkhun & Wooyoung) http://know.zoa.to/
Becoming Jay (Jay) http://www.parkjaebeom.net/http://viyott.ivyro.net/
http://nuneosu.dothome.co.kr/
http://omnivore.er.ro/
http://www.itis2pm.com/
http://www.20080904.com/
http://taecbeom.net/
On the day of the contract termination announcement, the official fanclub lost 14% of its members, dropping from 329,000 to 283,000. Currently, the official cafe has 222,186, making a 106,814 loss, or a 32% drop – yes, a third of the official fancafe in the matter of two days.
It’s heartbreaking to see the 2PM fanbase breaking apart like this en masse. Do you think JYPE & 2PM had it coming?
After what seemed to be a calamitous weekend following the shock announcement of Jaebeom’s contract termination, you could have seen it coming.
Just like what happened last year following Jaebeom’s MySpace controversy, it was revealed that 2PM’s Taecyeon and Wooyoung will once again be relieved of their hosting duties on Inkigayo for the February 28th episode.
JYPE announced this through their website, in a short statement saying that they will not be fulfiling their MC duties this Sunday. Who could blame them, considering what has happened in the last 48 hours? For the time being, it’s only been confirmed that they will be missing for this Sunday.
There’s no announcement from the Inkigayo production team and at this moment, we can only assume that f(x)’s Sulli will be hosting the show alone.
We have previously reported various fan rumors regarding the content of fan conference that JYP Entertainment held to discuss departure of Jaebeom. As more details are released and previous rumors are confirmed or refuted, this is the second edition to our report on this matter.
The conference lasted four hours, and the content was not released to the press by JYPE as they insisted that they cannot reveal what was said during the conference. This lead to many fan-created rumours about the conference. Oneday Room, a Korean fan page of 2AM and 2PM, released a summary of questions and answers.
I’ve personally translated this transcript into English for our readers:
Q: Underground (fanclub) submitted a new question sheet according to your request for a new one but you still have not answered to it.
A (Representative): We could not give any false answers to the questions as we were planning on announcing Jaebeom’s departure in late February, due to Jaebeom’s request. We wanted to talk truthfully in this conference.
Q: Fans seek to communicate with JYPE. In an event like this where you are to communicate the company’s position, why did you bring 2PM members who are not a part of decision making process within the company?
A (Representative): We believe that a conference like this could take place if the members spoke truthfully. If only the company representatives came, the fans wouldn’t believe us.
Q: We fans who are present right now will consider members who are here as representatives of JYPE and not a part of group 2PM, and consider the words that come out of your mouths as the words of the company. JYPE’s official statement says that the 6 members agreed on what was decided regarding Jaebeom on January 6th. Do any of you disagree with any of the said statements?
A (Members): We agree to the statement.
Q: Assuming the statement is true, why did you torture the fans and bring sympathy to yourselves by mentioning Jaebeom’s name even after January 6th?
A (Members): Jaebeom being a good friend is a different matter from him leaving the group. We don’t think it’s a problem for us to say that we miss him. We think even in future that we can say that we miss him if we miss him, and we don’t think that is a problem at all.
Q: We request that following details on termination of contract between Jaebeom and JYPE be answered and also request that you show us supporting documents as proof. When was the contract officially terminated?
A: February 26th.
Q: After the termination, what legal rights does JYPE hold regarding Jaebeom and how long do you hold those rights for?
A: We do not hold any legal rights.
Q: When does Jaebeom get paid indemnity and his share of profit?
A: There is no indemnity. His share of profit up to December was paid in full during January.
Q: Promise that there aren’t any clauses that limit him from returning to the entertainment industry in future.
A: There are no such clauses.
Q: We request JYPE be responsible this situation as they were not looking after their entertainer Jaebeom with utmost care. JYPE released statement filled with unclear words and thus made rumours surrounding Jaebeom and 2PM spread. Please tell us what you plan on doing about the rumours and what you plan on doing about damage done to Jaebeom, his family and the rest of 2PM.
A (Representative): JYPE is not responsible for personal matters of its entertainers and thus we believe that Jaebeom should be responsible for everything that he has caused. In a logical sense, Jaebeom is the wrongdoer and the company and the 6 members are the victims.
Q: Has JYPE done anything to protect Jaebeom from related news articles and TV programs since last September 5th? Requesting news articles and comments to be deleted aren’t hard, so why did you just watch the fire spread?
A (Representative): We have never requested news articles and comments to be deleted before the September incident. But we had tried our best. After the September incident, we have tried to delete comments and such, but the number of news articles regarding the incident was so large that we could not handle it all. Plus, the media is uncontrollable by us. I hope you understand our situation.
Q: According to JYPE’s statement, JYPE made final decision on Jaebeom on January 6th, but delayed announcing this fact for a month and 20 days, continuously using Jaebeom for marketing throughout the period. Even if the company did not directly and intentionally use Jaebeom for marketing, why did you just watch media sources use Jaebeom’s name?
A (Representative): It is true that final decision was made on January 6th. However, we agreed with Jaebeom to announce this matter in late February so we could not request anything to the media. Again, the media cannot be controlled by JYPE.
Q: Isn’t JYPE responsible for announcing the reason of Jaebeom’s termination as, of all things, “serious personal wrongdoing”?
A (Representative): We had reasons for that. We did not want the 6 members to be traitors. The 6 is more important than the one. We also could not lie in a statement written to be viewed by the entire nation. In practical sense, the 6 members are the victims and if we did not reveal the reason truthfully, then it would have created more rumors. That is why we revealed the reason truthfully, as “serious personal wrongdoing.”
Q: We are told that only the members and few within the company know what wrong Jaebeom has done. If it is indeed a serious matter then we as fans do not want it to be released to the public either. However, since only few within the company and the members know of the incident, can we assume that if the details do slip out into the public then it had been released by JYPE?
A: We hope that the details do not get released to the public; however, there are people who are not within the company that are part of the incident. There are possibilities of them releasing the matters so we cannot take any responsibilities.
Q: Does Jaebeom know that there is a conference happening at the moment? Does he know that JYPE’s official statement says that the reason for his termination is due to personal wrongdoings?
A (Nichkhun): We have texted each other up until recently and he knows that the conference is taking place. He even wanted to send a video message.
(Representative): He is aware of the statement as well.
Q: Is 2PM planning on selecting in a new member or electing a new leader?
A (Representative & Members): No.
Q: Is there no possibility of Jaebeom returning? What if he was to return as a member of a different management company?
A (Representative & Members): There is no possibility of him returning as a part of 2PM.
(Chansung): If Jaebeom was to return despite all that has happened, I’m all for him. However, I’m not positive about his return to 2PM.
Q: Couldn’t JYPE and the members ignore the issues? If the members did not agree to termination of Jaebeom, would the situation have come to this?
A (Members): It was something that could not be ignored.
(Representative): It was a matter that they could not disagree on, thus we believed that they would all agree. Even if they didn’t, the result would have been the same.
Q: The result would have been the same even if the MySpace incident did not happen?
A (Members): Yes.
Q: Do members take care of their Cyworld themselves? Are messages that were on the members’ Cyworld after September 8th really written by the members themselves?
A (Wooyoung): Yes. I felt anxious so I said I’m anxious.
(Chansung): Yes. I wrote “confused” about a personal matter. It was not related to this situation.
(Representative): We were asked why we do not manage our entertainers in previous conferences. Our contract does not limit entertainers’ personal lives. It is something that the entertainers themselves should take care of.
Q: How do the members feel about the boycott?
A (Junho): We thought that Jaebeom would return so we did not care. We merely thought of it as a problem that would get solved when he came back. But I would be lying if I said we didn’t feel hurt by it. If fans continue to boycott us after this, I think I’ll feel that they just don’t want to see us anymore. However, we will continue trying our best in singing and performing.
Q: Do you realize that “serious personal wrong doing” part you wrote on the statement can be considered defamation if it was revealed to be not true?
A (Representative): We wrote what is true.
Q: What do you plan on doing about Jaebeom’s part when performing the first and second single from now on? Also, can he receive additional profits earned by those albums in future?
A (Representative): Jaebeom’s part in performances is something we have to discuss among ourselves. Additional profit would be a matter that copyrights association will deal with, not JYPE.
Q: Would 2PM fan club continue using the title “HOTTEST”?
A (Representative): Yes. Are the 6 members not a part of 2PM? No. The 6 members are still 2PM, so we will continue to use the title HOTTEST.
Q: Members made final decision on Jaebeom on January 6th. The members were currently away on vacation and were spotted with smiles on.
A (Wooyoung): It was our first vacation.
(Taecyeon): We are celebrities. We cannot frown in public.
(Chansung): I cannot make sad faces when meeting up with relatives over holidays. What do you want? Do you want us to cause a scene during live performances, asking for Jaebeom to come back?
Q: Do you know of rumors that are spreading on the Internet? Aren’t you going to protect Jaebeom?
A (Wooyoung): We are not abandoning him, we are protecting him. I thought that if the details were released in future, I might regret my decisions.
(Chansung): Please do not question our friendship.
(Junho): After being told about what he had done, I honestly hated Jaebeom. We tried our best for his return, but right now, I think that staying silent is the best I can do for him.
(Taecyeon): Rumors will go away.
Q: JYPE revealed that contract with Jaebeom was terminated due to personal problems. Why was he not forced to pay any indemnity although he was the one responsible?
A (Representative): Other members of 2PM are promoting various products so indemnity might occur regarding that, but Jaebeom currently is not promoting any products. Thus he does not have to pay any indemnity to advertisers and although he is responsible for the termination, we decided not to charge him for anything.
It was earlier reported that Wooyoung and Taecyeon will not be hosting Inkigayo this Sunday. However, it seems like there was a change of events, because Newsen has instead reported that 2PM is planning on continuing all their previous activities.
As you all know, JYPE held a conference for 87 Hottests to clear up rumors and answer various questions on February 27.
When asked to cancel all 2PM members’ activities on programs, a representative from JYPE said, “The members will continue to appear on all programs and the schedule will not be changed.”
A representative of SBS Inkigayo said, “Nothing has changed. [Taecyeon and Wooyoung] will appear as MCs just like any other week.”
According to a JYPE source who was at the conference said, “We openly discussed various rumors. The conference was longer than we expected because we tried to answer all questions. The members answered to the best of their ability.”
He also added, “We tried answering all questions related to the rumors roaming around on the internet from the company’s point of view. We tried to reveal what we could about Jaebeom’s personal life.”
It seems like 2PM will continue like nothing happened. But only they know the truth, right?
Looks like Jaebeom may be switching gears and moving on after all.
It’s been revealed that Jaebeom might be singing for his friend ChaCha’s upcoming album. ChaCha, a fellow member of Art of Movement (the bboy crew that Jaebeom is a part of) and R&B artist, has been revealing information regarding an upcoming album. The following message was recently posted on Daum’s Tellzone, attracting the attention of many 2PM fans:
Thank you all for subscribing or befriending me on youtube! I’ll try and make time soon to skim through all of your questions, so I can answer them with genuine consideration! If you were wondering, I plan to release a solo album in June 2010 ‘CHA CHA MALONE – TWENTY TEN’ as an unsigned artist and \Jay will be featured on the album with his new and improved voice! He can sing even better now!
So be on the lookout for some fresh new music!!! I love telling stories of experiences in my life, through songs and usually choose not to sing about the pointless things. If you enjoy music that references real life situations, please support the album when it comes out :D You won’t be sorry! –CHACHA
Considering the first sentence of this note, this message was presumably posted on ChaCha’s official Youtube site. However, a quick check on his personal sites as well as Art of Movement’s pages indicates no evidence of this message, so it’s not completely clear whether this message really came from ChaCha or not. Regardless, ChaCha’s upcoming album has been confirmed and has generated much interest already.
Furthermore, rumors have been circulating that Art of Movement may try out for America’s Best Dance Crew (ABDC), a widely popular show featuring dance crews from across the States in a reality-show-like format. These rumors were further confirmed by Nichkhun, who reportedly said at the Feb 27 conference, “I texted Jay … He said he might appear on ABDC, but I told him to just go to school.”
Either way, I’m sure many fans will consider these updates to be quite bittersweet. We’ll sum up this article with a message that AOM has posted on their Facebook page:
It’s great that Jaebeom is getting his act together, but do you think he should be doing that with 2PM instead? Tell us your thoughts!
As allkpop reported earlier, JYP Entertainment announced that staff representatives and the six current members of 2PM would be holding a conference with Hottest representatives from various fan communities (including 2ONEDAY) on February 27. The conference took place at 3PM and is still going on as I type these words; bits and pieces of the conference have already begun to leak out via text message and phone calls from the attendees.
As we are drawing all details of this article from various Korean fan sources, all notes should be treated as rumors and taken with a grain of salt until confirmed. This article is to serve those that would like a live update on the entire event, and shouldn’t be considered as fact.
The conference took place at Songpagoo Moonjungdong shopping mall in Seoul. It’s been confirmed that four all six 2PM members and Park Jin Young himself were in attendance.
Before the conference started, the attendees were reportedly served tonkatsu for lunch and received tangerines as dessert. Despite the gesture however, the atmosphere was tense, and the room was filled with many angry and crying people; one 30-year-old woman was even kicked out for yelling. Furthermore, people were asked to leave because they were secretly caught texting or recording excerpts from the conference. However, over the course of the conference, people began to calm down.
Although this event was expected to be more of a fanmeeting than a Q&A discussion, attendees did receive the opportunity to speak and ask questions. 2PM Underground, one of the fan clubs in attendance, reportedly even brought a lawyer in order to put the situation in a legal perspective at the event.
The 2PM members reportedly confirmed that they had all agreed to let Jaebeom go; furthermore, Park Jin Young stated that he would help Jaebeom if he tried to make a return by himself in the future.
We’re anticipating more factual details to be released in the next few hours, so expect a full update from allkpop soon as we follow this highly controversial matter. Again, until our official report, please keep in mind that the statements in this article are based off information we have gathered from multiple Korean fan sources, and should be considered as rumors until they are confirmed.
This recent Jaebeom controversy seems to be keeping everyone on their toes, Hottest or not!
Within less than 24 hours, 2PM has lost thousands of fans, JYPE has been mobbed with angry Hottests, and 2PM members are even being blamed for Jaebeom’s withdrawal.
It has just been reported that seventy Hottests are protesting in front of the JYPE building. However, rather than raiding the building, these fans have quietly been gathered around the building entrance, watching JYPE’s moves.
One fan stated, “We are not standing here to ask JYP for his position. I just came here because I felt like I had to do something after hearing the news.”
On the 25th, 100 Hottests have been gathered around the JYPE building after hearing the news of the official termination of Jaebeom’s contract. Today, the 26th, fans have started to gather around the premises early in the morning, bringing the count to 70 fans as of now.
One particular fan had brought a chrysanthemum with her and explained, “I prepared this chrysanthemum to symbolize that 2PM fans died along with Jaebeom’s withdrawal.”
Aside from the mobbed JYPE building, netizens have been criticizing certain 2PM members, and as of now, Wooyoung and Taecyeon seem to be the main targets. It was reported earlier that Taecyeon had shut down his minihompy, which may have been a smart choice.
Although there are some positive comments left for the other 2PM members, there seem to be more netizens trying to bring down the 6-member 2PM. One of the comments left by netizens stated, “Ok Taecyeon, are you happy now?” and others demanded both Wooyoung and Taecyeon to step down from their variety shows and MC positions. These two are most likely being attacked by netizens because they are the most active members from 2PM.
Following JYP Entertainment’s official statement on the 25th that 2PM’s Jaebeom would, in fact, not be returning his rightful position as the leader of the 7-member group, an ominous cloud was cast over the nation.
In September 2009, Jaebeom stepped down from his position as 2PM’s leader after his “offensive” MySpace comments about Korea were publicized. Due to the sensitive issue of Jaebeom’s departure, all 2PM activities were suspended temporarily. After the brief hiatus, 2PM returned to the music scene with their first full-length album, without their leader. Since then, the beastly idols reaped various year-end music awards–including “Song of the Year” for Again and Again–and enjoyed skyrocketing growth in new endorsement deals.
The small hope, which Hottests have been desperately clinging onto, that Jaebeom would one day unite with 2PM once again, vanished as quickly as his departure to Seattle. Needless to say, Korean and international fans from all over the world have not taken the recent news lightly. In fact, the overall reaction to Jaebeom’s contract termination are already taking a devastating toll on JYP Entertainment.
After the company’s announcement on their official website, 2PM’s fancafes and fansites have been in complete disarray. In just five hours, 2PM’s official fan cafe on Daum lost 46,000 members (and counting) from the original 329,000, a hefty 14% chunk of the community.
Taecyeon shut down his Cyworld while Junsu closed his photo and comment sections off from the public.
It has been reported that there are even bodyguards stationed at the JYP building in Cheongdam at the moment. Perhaps it is to ensure the safety of 2PM and the staff members, but to my recollection, the managers themselves are the ones to watch out for.
Despite JYP Entertainment’s lengthy letter posted online, Hottests speculate that they are lying and are currently in the process of collecting evidence to thwart what they allege to be false statements.
As previously reported, Park Jaebeom is now confirmed to have permanently left 2PM. We released a small excerpt from the full message earlier, and now have an uncut translation of the entire letter for our readers.
In the past few hours, the kpop world has simply exploded with not only grief but confusion due to many theories and news reports that point in all directions. allkpop works around the clock to provide you with the fastest news, but we also value quality and accuracy as well, and hope this full statement will help our readers understand the convoluted matter at hand.
We at allkpop have translated the whole letter, which was posted on JYP Entertainment’s official website, into English here:
Hello, this is JYP Entertainment.
Last September, 2PM’s member Park Jaebeom announced his withdrawal from the group and returned to Seattle after a message he wrote on the internet during his trainee days caused backlash. We will now reveal what course of action will be taken.
Although the message that became an issue last September upset many people, it was written during Jaebeom’s tough trainee days on his personal page. At the time, the company agreed with Jaebeom when he asked to take some time for self-reflection. We did not think that this meant that he would stop all activities in the entertainment industry or that he would leave 2PM.
The company had the option of forcing Park Jaebeom to stay and continue promoting with a 7 member 2PM. However, although netizens exaggerated Jaebeom’s words through mistranslations, his words still had the potential to hurt many people. Because of this, we did not want to endorse Jaebeom and force him to continue promotions because it might have damaged his image permanently in the public eye, and so we agreed with his decision to return to the States.
When a celebrity makes a mistake and does not apologize for his / her mistake or if the company endorses that celebrity, the public view of that celebrity becomes more negative and it was in the company’s thoughts that letting Jaebeom withdraw from the group for self-discipline would be good.
Thankfully, after Park Jaebeom left the country, an outpour of support gave him another chance.
After Jaebeom’s leave, we did not release any additional information because we did not want the public to be influenced by malicious sources. Since Park Jaebeom’s return to Seattle, the company has searched for vocal, dance, and acrobatics teachers, and the company producer JYP went personally to Seattle to talk to these teachers and formulate a program.
All recent CF’s, performances, promotions and contracts that have involved 2PM have been made with the mindset that the group would eventually have all 7 members present after Park Jaebeom’s return and so we waited for his comeback.
In November, 2009, the company proposed that Park Jaebeom make his comeback through an album that would have been released this year in April, and Park Jaebeom had agreed to these plans. The plans called for Jaebeom’s return to Korea on the third week of February and a press conference would have been held before promotions as a 7 member 2PM began.
Because of the support he received from the public after his withdrawal from 2PM, Park Jaebeom’s return would have improved 2PM’s efforts and most importantly we would have been able to receive the complete support of the fans once again. The company and the group had high hopes.
However, if the news of Jaebeom’s comeback were revealed too quickly, we felt that the public would once again be negative. Although the fans criticized the lack of information from us, we did not reveal any plans for the comeback.
On December 22nd, 2009, Jaebeom confessed to Jung Wook, a representative, that he had done something wrong during the Again and Again promotions. Apparently, it was far more serious than his MySpace controversy.
The six other members were not notified then as they were busy with year-end activities. On January 3rd, 2010, we all sat down for a discussion and came to an agreement 3 days later that it was no longer possible for Park Jaebeom to continue activities along with 2PM.
We thus decided to terminate our exclusive contract with Jaebeom.
Although we wanted to release this information as soon as possible, Park Jaebeom’s personal situation prevented us from revealing this information until now and we hope you understand.
We would like to emphasize that all the information above is true in its entirety.
We are revealing these details through this message now because if we had lied and gave false information, we would have lost any trust that we held with the fans.
To 2PM and all the people who waited for Park Jaebeom’s return, we apologize deeply and are sorry to have to reveal this sad news to everyone.
The company and the remaining 6 members will prepare even harder and greet you with a better image.
Thank you.
In the midst of a large pile of CFs and endorsements, boy group 2PM is also showing their support for a fund-raising program operated by Korean Internet search giant Naver. The campaign is called Happy Bean: Happy Energy!
2PM has been delegated to represent a Child Care program called Busrugy as their saving box. The total amount of beans they raise will be used to purchase backpacks filled with pens, pencils, erasers, notebooks, and other necessary school supplies.
They also released a promotional video, wherein they revealed their hopes for the donation program, and educated the public about the use of the beans.
Whenever a Naver user writers a post or sends an e-mail, the user user earns a bean worth 100 won. The beans can later be given to a charitable organization and Naver provides the money for the contribution.
“We receive our strength from love,” Junsu said. “We receive love from our Hottest fans. Whenever we hear fan chants while performing on stage, we gain a lot of strength. We hope to relay the support we receive from our fans to children in need.”
They even drew amateur self-portraits of themselves and, as expected, Taecyeon did not forget to include his signature Ok-cat drawing.
Yes. The worst has happened.
2PM’s leader Park Jaebeom has quit for good, after it was announced on JYPE’s website on February 25th, Hottests in Korea and from all over the world are in shock.
Excerpts from JYP Entertainment’s online letter:
“On December 22nd, 2009, Jaebeom confessed to Jung Wook representative that he had done something wrong during Again and Again promotions. Apparently, it was far more serious than his MySpace controversy.
The six other members were not notified then as they were busy with year-end activities. On January 3rd, 2010, everyone of us (along with the members) sat down for a discussion and came to an agreement 3 days later that it was no longer possible for Park Jaebeom to continue activities along with 2PM.
We thus decided to terminate our exclusive contract with Jaebeom.”
JYPE stated that Jaebeom’s social impulses were a private matter and will not be revealed. They expressed that it was difficult to reveal the details of Park Jaebeom’s offenders who had intruded into his privacy and posted the comments.
JYPE had planned for Jaebeom’s comeback back in November 2009, with the idea of a return in April 2010, to which Jaebeom himself agreed. The plan was for Jaebeom to return to Korea in the 3rd week of February 2010 and have a press conference before resuming activities with 2PM in April. This comeback news were all kept secret, with the aim of protecting Jaebeom and 2PM. But it has now all become void.
Yoo Seung Jun (Steve Yoo) recently filmed a movie for a Jackie Chan movie titled “Little Big Soldier (aka Junior Soldiers)”, he spent some time off from his busy schedule in Hong Kong for a brief sit down interview.
Not many of you may be familiar with this man and only know him through our articles so here’s just a memory refresher: Yoo Seung Jun grew up in Los Angeles as a teenager and came to Korea in his late teens to become a singer. He was one of the top K-Pop singers in the 90’s and hit his peak in the late 90s with hits like Passion, Scissors, NaNaNa, I Will Be Back and more.
Things were going good until he hit the mandatory military controversy. Yoo Seung Jun was exiled from Korea when he acquired an American citizenship to avoid doing his mandatory military service. Previous to getting his American Citizenship, Yoo Seung Jun stated many times that he would fulfill his obligation and duty to serve as a Korean male in the military. There was much backlash after this and he was kicked out of the country as this move was seen as a betrayal and he was viewed as unpatriotic. There’s been much controversy about whether he was in the right or wrong and if he even deserved the punishment he got. Recently, people have been comparing this controversy to 2PM’s Jaebeom, but in the latter scenario he left on his own whim instead of being forced out.
Yoo Seung Jun got emotional when he talked about his deportation. He stated that he never really had time to properly explain himself. He hopes that one day Korea can forgive him but for the time being he isn’t expecting forgiveness.
Yoo Seung Jun also shared his thoughts on the Jaebeom situation stating, “My heart goes out to him. I wondered how he could continue on after such an incident. As a young man he made a mistake but if people make mistakes, if given the opportunity of a second chance, don’t you think he could grow and blossom into something much larger?”
If anyone knows how Jaebeom feels, it should be this guy. Hopefully it’s a better outcome for Jaebeom though, Yoo Seung Jun is a touchy subject but I wish him the best of luck and hopefully things will work out for him.
Kim Junsu/Junsu
Lee Junho/Junho
Hwang Chansung/Chansung
Jang Wooyoung/Wooyoung
Ok Taecyeon/Taecyeon
Nichkhun
