Back in February, NH Media officially announced that Alexander and Kibum would depart from U-KISS. Recently, Kibum and his mother were guests on a corner of tvN’s morning talk show, “Brunch“, through which they elaborated on details about his contract termination, while simultaneously clearing up some misconceptions. Kibum revealed that he was in a 10-year contract with NH Media (of which he only served 3), which prompted the show’s MCs to mention ’slave contracts’.
He responded, “I received notice of my contract termination very suddenly. We were all doing well, and had recently came back from an overseas schedule. I did notice that my personal schedules began disappearing about a month before I was told of my termination. My appearance for shows I was canceled to attend would be canceled, or another member would take my place. I didn’t think much of it, but after I was told, I realized that they had been preparing my departure since then.”
He went on to add that although there were consequences for the artist terminating his contract with the agency (in terms of fines), there were no penalties for agencies when they cancel their contracts with the artists. Kibum revealed that although the contract between the members and the company were similar, there was an unequal distribution of income, as well as uneven contract lengths. In addition, he stated that U-KISS had never received a cent from their album sales, physical or digital. When they earned money from CF deals, it was split twice – the first cut would be between the company and the group, and then the remaining share was divided again amongst the individual group members.
Kibum’s mother also made an appearance on the show, and she shared that she divorced her husband while her two sons were still young. However, despite the difficulties she faced as a single mother, she said she never once regretted encouraging her sons to be idol singers.
The interview also saw Kibum confessed that he regretted dropping out of school during his trainee years. He said that now, he would encourage trainees to stay in school if possible, because unexpected things can happen, even to top stars.
Although he didn’t reveal much in the way of future plans, it doesn’t seem like we’ve heard the last of Kim Kibum
Credits: allkpop + Bekah Treadwell + ukissmedia@video + Kissme4Ukiss
