LPA Entertainment CEO Lee Sul booked for demanding LEWD PHOTOS from pre-debut girl group AngelRus
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: It has become more and more difficult for idols to fulfil their dreams with increasing competition in the industry. As popular K-pop labels like HYBE, SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment produce more and more groups of their own, often times, the groups debuting under a rookie label or a small company are overlooked. Such small, unreputed labels use aspiring idols' passion to become a K-pop star and exploit these trainees under the guise of facilitating their debuts.
So is the case for a small company named LPA Entertainment whose CEO Lee Sul is now reportedly being investigated after Korean media revealed messages from the CEO to female trainees from the pre-debut group, AngelRus, under the label. The agency is a fairly old one, founded in 1982 as "Lee Sul Performing Agency" and is located in Incheon, South Korea. Reports from August 22 allege that messages from Lee Sul's phone revealed that the CEO forced female trainees from AngelRus to send him body shots/photographs in their underwear in order to be a K-pop idol.
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Who are the artists under LPA Entertainment?
LPA Entertainment is home to NuGus (rookie groups) like Dustin, Holics, I.One and the pre-debut group, AngelRus. Management under the label has been rather chaotic over the last few years as Dustin made their debut in 2020 and had disbanded by 2021. Holics who made their debut under the label back in 2016 had also reportedly disbanded in 2021. Meanwhile the pre-debut girl group I.One which was slated to debut with 'girl crush' and 'sexy performance' concepts in 2017 had disbanded in 2019 without even having made a debut.
Similarly, AngelRus, the latest venture from the label was slated to make a debut in November of 2022 had reportedly been disbanded by the label in its pre-debut stage itself. The label also deleted the social media accounts of AngelRus without the knowledge of fans. However, as of March 2022, CEO Lee Sul made claims that Dustin and Holics were both reportedly going to make "comebacks".
LPA Entertainment's CEO Lee Sul under investigation
According to latest reports, LPA Entertainment CEO Lee Sul forced the trainees to send photos of themselves wearing their undergarments on a regular basis under the pretext of keeping their bodies in check before debut. Since trainees making their debut in the girl group are fairly young, the CEO was accused of harassing young women aspiring to make it big in the industry. Korean media reported messages from the mobile phone of the CEO and a female trainee where Lee Sul asks the trainee to "take full-body photos of their front, back, and side views every Tuesday," wearing only their undergarments. The CEO was also found asking these trainees to regularly share their body measurments with the threat that making a debut would not be possible for the trainees if they did not follow these instructions.
Pre-debut girl group AngelRus was originally preparing to make their debut under the label but suddenly went on “hiatus”. https://t.co/DGdiRzaoui pic.twitter.com/2xFJRZkjGG
— nugu promoter (@nugupromoter) August 22, 2022
Reports also shared testimonies from a fomer Taiwanese trainee from AngelRus, suspected to be named Ulin, who opened up about the process of taking these humiliating body shots, calling it a "nightmare". She said, "I was always anxious and afraid that the photos I sent to the CEO would be leaked." The reports also claim that Lee Sul stated the reason behind the CEO asking the images was to hasten the debut process of the members without delays. Lee Sul supposedly said, "To make a debut by maximizing efficiency in a short time it is important to track self-management, weight management, body size management, etc." For now, police has received a complaint and started a full-scale investigation against the CEO.
