Idol Trainee Excluded From Debut Group For Violating Contract

On June 26, the Seoul Central District Court ruled that former trainee “A” must pay 5,000,000 KRW ($~3,675.64 USD) in damages to the agency for violating the contract.
Trainee “A” signed a contract with an agency in June 2018. The contract included a clause restricting actions that could harm the artist’s reputation, such as tattoos, hair, dating, clubbing, drinking, and smoking. The condition also stated that they would have to pay 30,000,000 KRW ($~22,053.81 USD) per violation.
However, in October 2018, “A” left the dorm without permission and was warned for secretly getting a tattoo on the back of their neck. “A” was then excluded from the debut lineup and was said to have a conflict with the other members.
The agency filed a lawsuit against “A” for damages and claimed that “A” had violated the contractual obligations and demanded 80,000,000 KRW ($~58,810.16 USD) in damages. The amount included the responsibility for contract termination and penalty.
The court sided with the agency, but reduced the compensation to 5,000,000 KRW ($~3,675.64 USD). The court judged that “A’s violation was not that serious, considering they only left the door once without permission and that the tattoo was small and not easily visible.
However, the agency is not accepting the first trial verdict and is preparing for a second trial.