Will FNC Entertainment Recover After Several Scandals Involving Their Top K-Pop Groups?

2016 hasn’t been the greatest year for FNC Entertainment in terms of scandals as the agency faced two controversies that involved two of their top groups.

FNC Entertainment was highly praised for promoting their artists last year after several of them were seen taking on individual schedules in areas such as dramas, variety shows and more. Unfortunately, the beginning of 2016 seemed to have a different tune for the agency.

Just prior to their comeback, AOA members Jimin and Seolhyun were criticized for not knowing an important figure in South Korean history during a short game on Channel AOA. The girl group continued on with their planned comeback, but despite giving sincere apologies on not only SNS but during their showcase, netizens continued to mock the two members for their alleged knack of historical knowledge.

Setting them back once again was an unprecedented mistake on the music show Music Bank where AOA was mistakenly awarded as the winners for that week. They had gone against girl group TWICE. Following a recount, Music Bank admitted to the mistake and awarded TWICE a new trophy, apologizing for the controversy.

Last week, FNC Entertainment faced another controversy after news of their alleged stock fraud hit the news. Soon after, their stocks took a hit, falling in value to all-new low. It was later revealed that an idol within the company was suspected of stock fraud with hints pointing towards CNBLUE member Yonghwa. He has since been cleared of the charges while member Jonghyun of CNBLUE, who was later reported to have also been suspected of stock fraud, was charged a fine.

On top of that, the agency signed Noh Hong Chul to their label in July 2015, and has steadily been making a comeback to television after nearly a year and a half hiatus following his drunk driving incident in November 2014. As his reappearance has been somewhat of low-key, there hasn’t been a huge reaction concerning his return which may be of concern.

As there is the remaining half-year left for 2016, many are wondering if both FNC and the artists involved will be able to recover from the two scandals.

Source: MBN