ENTERTAINMENT
Hwang Young-woong, after the controversy, chose to ‘self-reflect’
On the 31st of last month, Hwang Young-woong's agency, The Woori Entertainment, began by saying, "The Woori Entertainment has taken over the management of Hwang Young-woong as of March 20, 2023, and accordingly, we would like to explain the current situation regarding Hwang Young-woong."
The agency said, "Hwang Young-woong was noticed by officials of The Woori Entertainment, which was hosting several local performances, following his winning prize at the Go Bok-soo Song Festival in November 2021, and they formed a relationship. Afterwards, he lived at The Woori Entertainment for a while as a trainee, but at the time, he was already affiliated with the agency." Due to the internal circumstances of the company, which had many new singers, it was difficult to sign a formal contract, so I introduced Hwang Young-woong to the director of Woori Entertainment and the CEO of Fine Entertainment, who was a senior and junior colleague from my hometown, and Young-woong Hwang signed a contract with Fine Entertainment, which was trying to start an entertainment business as a new singer. “I did it,” he said.
He continued, "Afterwards, Mr. Hwang Young-woong participated in 'Flaming Trotman' as a member of Fine Entertainment, and was a singer under Fine Entertainment until he left. However, after various issues regarding Mr. Hwang Young-woong arose, he was transferred to a new company that lacked experience in managing singers. “We judged that it was not enough to respond to these problems, so Fine Entertainment requested Hwang Young-woong to terminate his contract, and Woori Entertainment decided to take over Hwang Young-woong’s management,” he added.
The agency said, "It was not that Hwang Young-woong had anything to do with Woori Entertainment, but since he was no longer a singer under Woori Entertainment during the 'Flaming Trotman' contest, we had no authority to intervene in any aspect of Hwang Young-woong's affairs. “We would like to clearly state that there was no connection whatsoever with the singer under our entertainment company,” he said. “Since Mr. Hwang Young-woong appeared on ‘Burning Trotman’ and made it to the final 8, he was contacted by New Era Project, the management company of ‘Burning Trotman,’ and Show Play, the concert production company. “We would like to inform you that we were unable to provide an immediate response to the various controversies that have arisen because it was necessary to resolve the contractual relationship with .”
In addition, "Woori Entertainment has been closely understanding the issues of Mr. Hwang Young-woong from various angles since March when the official contract was signed, and most of the incidents occurred several years ago and were often reported by third parties rather than the parties involved." “We ask for your understanding as it takes a lot of time to accurately understand the details of the case. We will find out the exact facts as soon as possible and tell you in detail.” Through data such as transaction history, national pension subscriber registration certificate, and health insurance qualification certificate, it was confirmed that he had worked as a trainee and contract employee at various companies for about 7 years. Although the specific details were not specified on the broadcast, the total was that he worked as a factory production worker. “It appears that this misunderstanding occurred because it was broadcast over a period of more than six years,” he said.
The agency said, "The Ulsan VCR filming during the 'Burning Trotman' finals could not be broadcast due to Young-woong Hwang's departure, but was filmed with 7 colleagues from Company D, where he worked last, and Young-woong Hwang was young when he worked at the factory. "We confirmed that there was a filmed interview that showed that he was a hard-working and remarkable younger brother and colleague. If other suspicions are raised in the future, we plan to disclose the details of wage deposits and the testimonies of colleagues who participated in the VCR filming," he said. "There are limits to including all of Hwang Young-woong's answers in the broadcast about his father and the interview about his mother, so only the incident during the IMF was highlighted and aired, so please understand that it caused confusion for many people." said.
At the same time, “Mr. Hwang Young-woong expressed his intention to offer a sincere apology to those who say he has been harmed in the past. Even though it has been several days since the suspicions arose, due to issues with the contract with the broadcast production company and transfer issues to the agency, etc. Mr. Hwang Young-woong also apologized for the fact that he has not been able to directly apologize or take action due to various limitations in taking any action. He also expressed his wish to contact the parties directly and apologize if they allow it." He said.
The agency said, "Above all, as mentioned in a certain broadcast, Mr. Hwang Young-woong spent his school days being beaten and having money stolen from his friends, and the things he did caused great harm to someone that he could not erase. “I am also most distressed, regretful, and reflecting on my ignorance in not recognizing that this was an issue that could cause significant social repercussions,” he said. “I am not trying to make light of Mr. Young-woong Hwang’s past actions or appeal to his emotions. School violence is never an issue. “It is a clear crime that cannot be dismissed as the childish behavior of teenagers, and there is no room for argument that it is a social evil that our society must eradicate,” he said.
Not only that, "I myself was ignorant of the weight of school violence, and after I became an adult with an established sense of self, I did not cause trouble with my indiscriminate actions, and when I started singing, I became emotionally stable, and the past was no longer visible." “I ask you to consider that when Hwang Young-woong participated in Burning Trotman, his attitude was already very different from when he was young, as people around him who have experienced the current Hwang Young-woong are telling us that this has happened.”
The agency said, "Mr. Hwang Young-woong was close to an ordinary person with little broadcasting experience, so he also has a lot of guilt and fear due to the current series of events, and he endured a lot of pain due to his wandering from his teens to his early twenties. The entire family is feeling great pain at having to be criticized once again for this incident. We will gladly accept criticism for our mistakes. However, we will not cause further injury or tragedy due to baseless speculations and expansions that are different from the facts. “I earnestly ask you to refrain from reckless witch-hunting. I would like to bow my head to the public and journalists.”Below is the full text of Woori Entertainment’s official statement.Hello, this is The Woori Entertainment.
The Woori Entertainment has taken over the management of Young-woong Hwang as of March 20, 2023, and accordingly, we would like to explain the current situation regarding Young-woong Hwang.
After winning a prize at the Go Bok-soo Song Festival in November 2021, Young-woong Hwang was noticed by officials at The Woori Entertainment, which was hosting several local performances, and they formed a relationship. Afterwards, he lived at Woori Entertainment as a trainee for a while, but due to the internal circumstances of the company, which had many new singers already attached at the time, it was difficult to sign a formal contract, so he introduced Hwang Young-woong to the director of Woori Entertainment and the CEO of Fine Entertainment, who was a senior and junior in his hometown. , Mr. Hwang Young-woong signed a contract with Fine Entertainment, a new company trying to start an entertainment business.
Afterwards, Hwang Young-woong participated in 'Flaming Trotman' under Fine Entertainment, and was a singer under Fine Entertainment until he left. However, after various issues regarding Mr. Hwang Young-woong arose, it was determined that it was not enough for a new company with insufficient experience in managing singers to respond to these problems, so Fine Entertainment requested that Mr. Hwang Young-woong terminate his contract, and Woori Entertainment further terminated the contract with Mr. Hwang Young-woong. I decided to take over management.
It's not that Hwang Young-woong had anything to do with Woori Entertainment, but during the 'Flaming Trotman' contest, he was no longer a Woori Entertainment singer, so he had no authority to intervene in any aspect of Hwang Young-woong's affairs, and he was no longer affiliated with Woori Entertainment. We would like to clearly state that there was no connection whatsoever with the singer.
Since Mr. Hwang Young-woong appeared in 'Burning Trotman' and made it to the final 8, it was necessary to resolve the contractual relationship with New Era Project, the management company of 'Burning Trotman', and Show Play, the concert production company. We would like to inform you that we were unable to provide an immediate response.
Furthermore, Woori Entertainment has been closely understanding the issues of Mr. Hwang Young-woong from various angles since the official contract was signed in March, and most of the incidents occurred several years ago and were often reported by third parties rather than the parties concerned. Please understand that it will take a lot of time to understand the content accurately. We will find out the exact facts as soon as possible and tell you in detail.
However, regarding the recently revealed 'Hwang Young-woong's factory work history', it is revealed that he worked as a trainee and contract employee at various companies for about 7 years through data such as salary account transaction details, national pension subscriber registration certificate, and health insurance qualification certificate. I confirmed this, and it seems that this misunderstanding occurred because the broadcast did not specify specific details and only said that he had worked as a factory production worker for a total of over 6 years.
In addition, the Ulsan VCR filming at the time of the Burning Trotman finals could not be broadcast due to Young-woong Hwang's departure, but was filmed with 7 colleagues from Company D, where he worked last, and Young-woong Hwang showed off his skills even at a young age when he worked at the factory. I confirmed that there was an interview filmed about him being a hard-working and remarkable younger brother and colleague. If other suspicions are raised about this in the future, we plan to disclose the details of wage deposits and the testimony of colleagues who participated in the VCR filming.
There are limits to including all of Hwang Young-woong's answers in the broadcast about his father and the interview about his mother, so please understand that only the incident during the IMF was highlighted and was broadcast, causing confusion to many people.
In addition, Young-woong Hwang expressed his desire to offer a sincere apology to those who say he has been harmed in the past. Even though several days have passed since the suspicion arose, Mr. Hwang Young-woong has various restrictions in taking any action due to issues with his contract with the broadcast production company or his transfer to the agency, so he apologizes for not being able to directly apologize or take action yet. He expressed his intention and said that if the parties concerned allow it, he would like to contact them directly and apologize.
Above all, as mentioned in a certain broadcast, Hwang Young-woong spent his school days being beaten and having money stolen from his peers, and the things he did caused great harm to others that could not be erased, and also had social repercussions. I am most distressed, regretful, and reflecting on my ignorance in not recognizing that this was an issue that could cause serious trouble.
This is not an attempt to make light of Mr. Youngwoong Hwang's past actions or to appeal to his emotions. There is no room to dispute that school violence is a clear crime that can never be dismissed as the childish behavior of teenagers, and that it is a social evil that our society must eradicate.
However, he himself was ignorant of the weight of school violence, and after becoming an adult with an established sense of self, he did not cause trouble with his indiscriminate actions, and when he started singing, he became emotionally stable and his past self was no longer visible. In light of the people around him who have experienced the current Hwang Young-woong, please take into consideration that when Hwang Young-woong participated in the Burning Trotman, his attitude was already very different from that of his childhood.
In addition, since Mr. Hwang Young-woong was close to an ordinary person with little broadcasting experience, he also had a lot of guilt and fear over the current series of events, and his family had endured a lot of pain due to him wandering from his teens to his early twenties. I feel great pain that they have once again been criticized for this incident.
I will gladly accept criticism for my mistakes. However, we earnestly ask you to refrain from indiscriminate witch-hunting so that further injuries and tragedies do not occur due to groundless speculations and expansions that are different from the facts. I would like to bow my head earnestly to the citizens and journalists.
We would also like to express our thanks and advice to the fans who have shown unconditional love and support to Mr. Hwang Young-woong. Youngwoong Hwang sincerely hopes that no more victims will arise due to his past history. I would like to ask you to take some time and wait so that I can quietly sort out the past, and if there are any mistakes, Youngwoong Hwang or our company can correct them. We would like to express our sincere gratitude once again for the support and love you have shown to Youngwoong Hwang.
Lastly, we would like to inform you that Youngwoong Hwang currently has no plans to engage in any activities. There are currently no plans to hold any fan meetings that have been brought to light recently. Mr. Hwang Young-woong is not in a position to engage in any activities right now for various personal reasons, and he plans to take some time for self-reflection by reflecting on himself and putting various situations in order.
We sincerely apologize for causing fatigue to the public for a long time due to Mr. Hwang Young-woong's past history. In the future, we will make every effort to ensure that no one feels uncomfortable due to Mr. Hwang Young-woong.
thank you
Kang Min-kyung, Ten Asia reporter kkk39@tenasia.co.kr
