South Korean singer Chuu has been kicked out from the girl group Loona, her former agency announced Friday.
In a statement, BlockBerry Creative said Chuu, whose real name is Kim Ji-woo, allegedly had "violent language and misuse of power" toward the agency’s staff as the reason of the expulsion.
"after recently being told of Chuu’s violent language and misuse of power toward our staff, the truth was found upon investigation. Agency representatives are apologizing and comforting staff, and we have decided to take responsibility for this and remove Chuu from LOONA," the agency explained.
No other details on the incident were disclosed but BlockBerry Creative said they "officially apologize" to the staff who has been "greatly hurt" by the incident.
"First of all, we officially apologize to the staff who have been greatly hurt by this incident, and we will put in our full effort so they can now heal and focus on treatment and then return to their normal lives," the company said.
"We apologize to the fans who have loved and supported LOONA until now and ask for your sincere forgiveness in not being able to have 12 members together until the end," it added.
Earlier this year, BlockBerryCreative denied rumors of Chuu signing with another agency.
Netizens on Twitter expressed "disgust" on how the agency treated Chuu, defending the artist that she might be just speaking out against being "overworked and mistreated."
The previously 12-member group Loona officially debuted in 2018.
