Loona fans blame agency for 'discriminating' against member Chuu

Chuu of Loona [BLOCKBERRY CREATIVE]

Allegations that Chuu of girl group Loona is being “discriminated” against by her agency has continued surging on online communities by her fans.

Recently, Chuu told her fans via the fan community platform Fab that “it's a bummer that the agency hasn't updated me on attending upcoming schedules.”

Online users interpreted this to mean that Chuu will not be performing in the Seoul concerts of Loona’s world tour “LoonaTheWorld,” set for Oct. 15 and 16.

When fans of the girl group asked fellow member Yeojin if the group received any notice regarding the concerts, she replied, “it was announced on our group chat of 12 members and in our schedules. We already knew [about our schedules].”

Fans then began speculating that Chuu may have been excluded from the group chat, which ultimately led Chuu to step in to clarify the issue.

“I think the situation took a weird direction,” Chuu said. “Just because the schedule is announced, it doesn’t necessarily mean that I am participating in it. The agency has to notify us of its decision on whether or not I will be attending.”

Last June, Blockberry Creative released a press release denying rumors that Chuu was leaving the agency and that she was in a legal fight with Blockberry Creative. The allegations had stemmed from the announcement that Chuu will be unable to perform on Loona’s world set due to her solo activities.

At the time, the agency said that such rumors were “groundless.”

Loona debuted in 2018 with the EP “[+ +],” pronounced "plus plus." The group has 12 members: Haseul, Vivi, Yves, JinSoul, Kim Lip, Chuu, Heejin, Hyunjin, Go Won, Choerry, Olivia Hye and Yeojin. It is known for hits "Hi High" (2018), "Why Not?" (2020) and "PTT (Paint The Town)" (2021).

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]