Lee Seok-Cheol, the leader of The East Light, has come forward and provided his full testimony on reported abuse from the company in tears.

On October 19, a press conference addressing the recent reports of abuse inflicted on The East Light took place. At the conference, Lee Seok-Cheol, the leader of the band, provided his testimony and presented evidence, confirming the abuse from both their executive music producer and CEO Kim Chang-Hwan.

The day prior, it was reported that the members of The East Light have been verbally and physically abused by their music producer and CEO since before their debut in 2015. In response, the legal counsel of the band announced to hold a press conference, at which one member will attend to provide his full testimony on the reported abuse.

During the conference, Lee Seok-Cheol explained in detail about the physical and verbal abusive incidents they encountered with several staff members of Media Line. At the end, he expressed his intention to depart from the band.

The following is the official statement from Lee Seok-Cheol:

Hello, my name is Lee Seok-Cheol, the leader of The East Light.

Since 2015 to 2017, The East Light members have been abused by producer Moon Young-Il of Media Line Entertainment. From our practice rooms to recording studio and the roof, we frequently got hit by a baseball bat, metal mop, and others. The abuse was inflicted mainly on our buttocks, and the producer even threatened to kill us if we were to tell our parents.

Lee Seung-Hyun, the bassist of The East Light, was even locked up in a studio on the 5th floor by PD Moon Young-Il. In the room, he was hit with a bat on the head, thighs, arms, and buttocks about 50 times. As a result, his head was severely injured, and the abuse caused many bruises on his thighs. The same day, Lee Eun-Sung was hit on the head, resulting in much blood loss.

Lee Jung-Hyun, the representative of Media Line let us go on TV without a proper medical care. Moreover, CEO Kim Chang-Hwan of Media Line witnessed the abuse, but did not put a stop to it. In fact, he neglected the abuse by telling the producer to “go easy on us.”

Currently, memver Lee Seung-Hyun is receiving a psychological treatment due to trauma, which resulted from the abuse. Another member received a message from producer Moon Young-Il, threatening to kill him if he were to tell any one. He is still suffering from it.

While preparing for my debut in August of 2016, producer Moon Young-Il wrapped a guitar cable around my neck and he pulled it to choke me every time I made a mistake. This went on for 4 hours. The abuse resulted in a bruise on my neck, which my mother witnessed.

Our members have been receiving constant child abuse and a violation on our human rights.

However, the offenders gave their actions an excuse, calling it an abuse with educational purpose, and continued to threaten us to disband our band if this were to come to light. The offenders said, “if this bomb were to go off, The East Light can just disband, and the only thing we lose is Young-Il (the producer who inflicted the abuse on the members). This will only end you guys.” As a result, our members could not tell our parents, and we had to submit to them.

As the leader of The East Light, I could no longer overlook the pain of my loving members and brothers. I stand here in hopes of banishing all child abuse and violation of human rights in the K-Pop scene. Thank you.”

Original Article
Translated by Dasol Kim

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM!