Joo Hak-nyeon #

Introduction #

Joo Hak-nyeon (also romanized Ju Haknyeon) is a South Korean singer whose career was derailed by a tabloid story he says was false. On June 18, 2025, his agency, One Hundred Label, announced that he was leaving the boy group THE BOYZ and that his exclusive contract had been terminated, after the Japanese weekly Shukan Bunshun published photographs of him with a former Japanese adult-film actress and South Korean reports alleged he had paid for sex. He denied the claims, but the removal stood and the group continued as ten. A year later the story partly reversed: in July 2026, a Seoul court dismissed One Hundred’s roughly 8 billion won damages suit against him, finding the meeting fell within his private life and the prostitution allegations groundless.

Background Information #

Born in 1999, Joo first drew public attention in 2017 as a contestant on Mnet’s survival series Produce 101 and debuted that year as a member of THE BOYZ. The group was signed to One Hundred Label, a company co-founded in 2023 by CEO Cha Ga-won and MC Mong. Fans had long complained that Joo was underused.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #

Allegations. The claims in this section are allegations from Shukan Bunshun’s reporting — photographs of Joo with a former adult-film actress — and from subsequent South Korean media reports claiming he had paid for sex. They were never admitted by Joo Hak-nyeon and never led to criminal charges: police declined to refer the prostitution claim to prosecutors, and a July 2026 civil ruling found the allegations groundless. Joo Hak-nyeon denies all of them and has maintained his innocence throughout.

The trigger was a trip to Japan in late May 2025 for an awards ceremony. On the night of May 29, Joo visited a bar in Tokyo’s Roppongi district with acquaintances, in a gathering that reportedly ran into the early morning. He was seen hugging Asuka Kirara, a former adult-film actress now active as an influencer, who was observed resting her chin on his shoulder. Shukan Bunshun obtained a questionnaire on the encounter and published photographs of him drinking and making physical contact with the woman, identified only as “A” — and reports followed in South Korea alleging that Joo had paid for sex.

Joo was placed on hiatus on June 16, and on June 18 One Hundred announced his withdrawal from the group and the termination of his contract. “As a result of our investigation, we have recognized the severity of the issue and have taken it seriously,” the agency said, adding that “it has become difficult to maintain our trust in him as an artist.” It called the exit “an unavoidable decision made to protect the members and the team.” Joo denied the claims and maintained his innocence.

Public Reaction and Consequences #

The backlash landed less on Joo than on his company. Fans criticized One Hundred for ejecting him rather than standing by him, arguing that his private life should not determine his place in the group and that blame belonged with the stalkers who photographed him, the agency, and the K-pop industry. Long-simmering grievances about his treatment resurfaced: fans recited the complaint that he had gotten “no lines, no screentime, no solo projects, no endorsements” from a company that “never did anything for him” and now could not protect him when he needed it most. Others wrote that the agency had worded the announcement “like he committed a crime.” The group, meanwhile, continued as a ten-member team.

Current Status #

The June 2025 firing stands in the public narrative — Joo has not returned to THE BOYZ — but he has since beaten the agency in court. On July 16, 2026, Civil Division 28 of the Seoul Central District Court dismissed One Hundred’s roughly 8 billion won (about 5.4 million US dollars) damages suit against him in its entirety and ordered the agency to bear the litigation costs; the ruling was reported in English on July 23, 2026. The court held that meeting the woman fell within Joo’s private life, and that while it “may have been inappropriate conduct for a member of an idol group, it cannot be regarded as a serious act of reputational damage.” The suit sought his estimated future earnings, a contractual penalty, and other compensation tied to the termination.

The court’s reasoning tracked the collapsing case behind the allegations. Two weeks after the termination, police had decided not to refer the prostitution case to prosecutors, citing a lack of concrete evidence; in June 2026, the journalist who first reported the allegations was indicted for defaming Joo by publishing false information. “The prostitution charge resulted in a police decision not to refer the case, and the reporting of the allegations led to an indictment for defamation,” the court said. “Taken together, these circumstances do not constitute sufficient grounds to terminate an exclusive contract on the basis of a breakdown of trust.”

Impact on Their Career/Life #

The professional cost remains despite the verdict: Joo lost his place in THE BOYZ, and the ten-member group moved on without him. But the ruling materially rewrites his record — the court found the termination unjustified, concluded there was no irreparable breakdown of trust, and stripped the legal basis from the agency’s attempt to recover 8 billion won from him, a defeat Korean media framed as allegations that were “ultimately found to be groundless.” His case has become a pointed example of a cancellation that outran its evidence: fired within days of a tabloid photo story, never charged, and vindicated in court a year later. It also landed amid One Hundred’s wider unraveling, as multiple artists filed suits alleging unpaid settlements and THE BOYZ members filed an embezzlement complaint against Cha Ga-won, who is under police investigation.