NINE.I
NINE.i is at odds with its agency.
NINE.i, a nine-member group owned by First One Entertainment, said on its fan platform on March 14, “We received sudden news. The eight of us (Jewon, Minjun, Vahn, Vari, Seowon, Taehun, Joohyoung , and Jiho) are currently in a legal dispute with First One Entertainment.”
EDEN, the eldest member, decided not to join the conflict after discussion.
The 8 members of NINE.i added: “We would like to inform you that we will do our best for I.ENINs (fandom name) and NINE.i as long as our conditions allow, and that we will not change in regarding our relationship with each other.“
For ongoing promotional activities in Japan and the first Japanese fan concert tour planned for August, they expressed their intention to “proceed without changes“.
Finally he said, “We fear these words may hurt the I.ENINs, but we will really appreciate it if you can trust our strong heart and wait a little longer. We are sorry for the difficult news as we started the tour.“
NINE.i initially appeared as a 10-member group, but was reorganized into a 9-member group when WINNIE, a member with a shoulder injury who suspended activities, decided to withdraw in January.
First One Entertainment said at the time: “We have discussed the direction of future business at length with the company, following advice from medical staff that excessive choreography is likely to cause a recurrence of ruptures shoulder muscles, and we decided to end his activities as a member of the group“.
NINE.i members have reported several injuries since their debut in March 2022. JOOHYOUNG injured his finger during choreography practice in December last year, and VAHN suspended activities again in November because his broken leg in July was not completely healed. VARI also took a break that same month due to anxiety and poor health. TAEHUN suffered a thigh injury in January this year after temporarily stopping activities due to poor condition in April.
Last year, some members appeared on Mnet’s survival program “Boyz Planet” and were excluded from the group’s activities.
First One Entertainment launched in 2019 as an entertainment agency staffed by trainers from major agencies. Currently, NINE.i and Park Sun Joo are affiliated with it.
Journalist: Shawn
Translator: Shawn
Source: SNS NINE.I
