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Who is CLC's Elkie? Here's why she complained of 'poor treatment' and wants out of Cube Entertainment

During the contract period, Chong’s income from her entertainment activities were allegedly collected by Cube Entertainment and it never released any income statements to Chong

Is K-pop group CLC’s singer Elkie leaving Cube Entertainment? According to multiple reports from Korean media houses, pop star Elkie has had enough as she is reportedly asking her agency to terminate her exclusive contract and pay her dues. A legal letter of the ‘I Dream’ crooner has surfaced on the internet which gives a detailed view of what exactly unfolded in Elkie’s career with Cube Entertainment.

Who is Elkie?

Elkie Chong is a Kpop singer and actress from Hong Kong who currently works in South Korea as a member of the group CLC. She is also deemed as one of the rising K-drama stars. Elkie was seen in the weekend drama ‘Rich Family's Son’ as Mong Mong, a Chinese foreign exchange student. Later, she starred in ‘A Little Thing Called First Love’ as Yang Man Ling, portraying the role of a senior who is responsible for a radio station. Elkie also released her solo track ‘I dream’ in 2018.

Why is she leaving CLC?

According to this Twitter thread, the legal documents filed in Elkie’s name directly bring the allegations of mistreatment as a reason for her plea to terminate her contract immediately. The letter written by Elkie’s legal representatives said, "According to Miss Chong’s statements and materials she has provided us, Miss Chong signed an exclusive contract with Cube in February 2016. In the contract, it was stated that Cube would be the exclusive managing agency for Miss Chong’s entertainment activities. Following the signing of the contract, Miss Chong joined girl group CLC, and fulfilled the responsibilities that were outlined in the contract, followed the company’s guidelines and arrangements, and dedicated her time to training for acting as well. However, Miss Chong claimed Cube Entertainment violated numerous terms and conditions from the contract, as highlighted below:”

The letter claimed that “during the contract period, Miss Chong’s income from her entertainment activities were collected by Cube Entertainment. However, Cube Entertainment never released any income statements or specific details to Miss Chong.”

And added, “After the signing of the contract, Miss Chong fulfilled the responsibilities outlined in the contract, and participated in the schedules that she was required to and arranged by Cube Entertainment. However, Cube Entertainment did not pay Miss Chong for her acting activities as outlined in Article 6.4 in the exclusive contract.”

The letter further claimed, “due to Cube Entertainment’s management and internal structure changes, you informed the CLC members that there would no longer be any developmental support in 2020. Since then, Cube Entertainment has not provided any reasonable plans for Miss Chong’s future, and instead, your actions showed that you would no longer fulfill the terms of the contract.”

Elkie’s legal representatives have also asked Cube Entertainment to immediately clear her due payment within 15 days, failing which the legal team will take necessary actions, it stated. “We have accepted Miss Chong’s payment and are issuing this notice on her behalf. First, starting the day you receive this letter, the exclusive contract between Miss Chong and Cube Entertainment is terminated. Second, within 15 days after receiving this notice, Cube Entertainment is to provide Miss Chong with the proper income statement for her activities during her contract period and contact details to proceed with a settlement. Third, if Cube Entertainment refuses to follow the demands of the notice, we will use all legal means necessary to protect our client.”

Cube Entertainment hasn’t yet responded to the allegations but Elkie’s fans are pouring support for the Hong Kong singer and actress. A user said, “CLC has been neglected and mistreated by Cube Entertainment since their debut and knowing that Elkie has now left the company is really shocking and heartbreaking. I am honestly really hurt by the information and I am hoping for the best for both CLC and Elkie..”

Another said, “CLC has endured so much s**t... I am proud of Elkie for sticking up for herself. Cube? let them go please.” A fan slamming Cube Entertainment wrote, “HOW can cube ent continue to function w/ any dignity at all when beast left the entire company & changed their entire name, 4m had a tragic disbandment, cube ruined hy*na & 4m's r/s, then cube awfully ousted both hy*na & d*wn. 1 after the other. & now it's clc's turn, huh?” referring to a previous dating scandal involving Kpop idols. A fan shared, “I’m really sad about elkie's departure, but also glad that she finally left. cube f***ing sucks and i’m proud of her for prioritizing her health <3 she’s an amazing singer and an amazing person and i’ll continue to support her! she deserves the world.”