[Getty Images Bank]
[Getty Images Bank]

A Japanese trainee who abruptly disappeared two months before his scheduled K-pop debut has been referred to prosecutors.

The Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul forwarded the case of the Japanese trainee, identified only as A, 29, to prosecutors Wednesday on fraud charges without seeking his detention. A is currently in South Korea.

A had been set to debut as a member of a six-piece male idol group through a domestic agency. In December last year, however, roughly two months before the planned debut, he vanished, leaving behind only a message that "the relationship of trust had broken down."

By that point, the group had already completed filming its music video and publicly revealed both its music and the members' faces. With A gone, the agency reorganized the group as a five-member act and proceeded with the debut without him.

The agency later discovered that A had already been signed with another agency at the time of their contract, meaning he had secretly entered into a dual contract. The agency filed a complaint with police in March.

In the complaint, the agency said it had confirmed that A had also suddenly cut off contact and disappeared from the agency he had signed with before theirs. "He has repeatedly signed contracts with Korean agencies, received substantial investment, and then fled to Japan when it came time to begin activities," the agency said.

The agency said A's disappearance caused losses of approximately 57.43 million won ($40,200), covering trainee training costs, song and choreography production fees, recording costs, music video filming expenses, accommodation rent and food costs.

After receiving the complaint, the Yeongdeungpo Police Station placed A under an exit ban — a measure that prohibits foreign nationals from leaving the country — and continued its investigation.


betterj@heraldcorp.com