The verdict reached by the Seoul Central District court that rendered MADTOWN’s contract with GNI null, freeing the members to choose their path.
MADTOWN’s path as a group teeters on the edge of dismantlement. A legal representative of the group commented on the future of the group saying that, “We are collecting opinions from the members…although they have only been in the entertainment industry for a short time there is some reluctance in the group.” The members certainly have good reason to feel reluctant and even disillusioned with the industry.
After debuting in 2014 the group had relative success with albums YOLO, and MAD TV in 2014, Welcome to Madtown and OMGT in 2015, and Emotion in 2016. However, the single comeback in the summer of 2016 pointed to a larger issue with their company. Their agency at the time, J.Tune Camp, was quickly going under.
After Emotions the groups was paralyzed as J.Tune Camp dissolved. In January 2017 the group transferred their contract from the now obsolete J.Tune Camp to GNI Entertainment. Unfortunately, the group would have to suffer through another misfortune. Just two months after transferring their contract when police arrested the CEO for a variety of charges. The company started to go down and MADTOWN was in limbo with no valid agency to support album preparation and other activities, but still in a binding contract. These series of events motivated members to file a lawsuit.
The resolution of their contract allows the members to decide what they would like to do. Thus far, four out of the seven members have expressed that they want to continue being entertainers.
Jota and Heo-jun plan to continue acting and will likely search for a company that will support their ambitions. Conversely, Dae-won and Lee-geon are currently appearing on KBS 2TV “The Unit“. The intend to work hard on the show and want to continue as singers.
On the other hand, Buffy has decided to enlist in the military. On November 10 Buffy posted a handwritten letter on his official fan cafe, a type of blog. In the letter Buffy apologized to fans for releasing information in this way and said that he plans to still be a singer after he finishes his military duties.Further, he admits that he had “been worrying about [his] future for a long time”, and after speaking to MADTOWN members decided to leave the group to enlist.
Moos and H.O have not their intentions public at this time.
By O.C
