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I went to the conference as one of the representatives from Underground. I was picked as one of the representatives since I have been in charge of volunteer and charity works.
I actually had a bit of hopeful expectation when JYPE stated to "communicate" with 2PM fandom as they had with Wonder Girls fandom after Sunmi's withdrawal. But JYPE had not been answering our official inquiries that was sent a month before; they suddenly announced to have a conference and Jaebum's permanent withdrawal was announced two days before the scheduled conference - seeing these happen, to be honest, I did not want to go. The conference only looked like an event to make Jaebum's permanent withdrawal more official, when it was announced already.
The fans who were at the conference asked the questions (although not everyone there asked a question), and the people answering were different depending on the question. Therefore it is unknown who asked which question. I myself only know the questioners who sat around me, including the reps from Underground. But I do remember most of the questions, the answers from the members and CEO Jung Wook, and the circumstances at the time.
The first question we asked the members when the conference started was if everything on JYPE's announcement was true and if the six members really agreed to it. Each member answered without any hesitation.
The fans were quite shocked. While answering couple questions that were asked right after, one fan said this conference cannot be continued with such reactions; so the conference was continued in a relatively calm manner afterwards.
About the fans' reactions, I believe there would be differences depending on the recordings. Even when someone spoke softly, the voice recorded rather loudly if she sat next to someone with a recording device.
There were many questions that need answers of the company, so CEO Jung Wook answered those. The answers from the six members were the same as the company's. The company strongly argued that "schematically, the six members are victims of Jaebum."
We try not to doubt the friendship between the members, however, the six members kept denouncing Jaebum multiple times, of his wrongdoing. That was the reason why we were shocked at the conference.
The answers of the six members and CEO Jung Wook at the conference can be summarized into the following sentence: "This whole situation was caused by Jaebum's wrongdoing, and 2PM will work harder as six from now on."
Personally, I do not think Jaebum did any wrong; but even if he did, should the six members have tagged Jaebum of a humiliating reason for his secession such as "private life" when they still think of Jaebum as a good brother? And should the company also have tattooed him a scarlet letter just so they can calm the fans who oppose to Jaebum's permanent withdrawal, even if it was for the six members' stead?
When the fans asked the company of the many rumors that will follow Jaebum for the rest of his life, and if the company has to do with any of the responsibilities, the following was CEO Jung Wook's reply.
"Personal problems should be handled on his own. And since the company does not interfere with one's privacy according to the fair trade contract, supervision is not required: Therefore the company is not responsible for anything."
I do not know about other companies, but I think that was not something a CEO of an entertainment company - a company that earns money by selling entertainers - should say. In the entertainment business where the money earned by a singer's success is considered the company's profit, the money Jaebum earned was taken as the company's profit and his problem was pushed away as his own responsibility: Is this really a fair way of doing business?
I said two things at this conference: A question, if the company will take responsibilities of any future possible defamation of Jaebum due to the mention of the word "private life" on their official announcement; and an advice (or a suggestion), that the reason why the fans cannot trust the company anymore is because the company never apologized officially.
About that comment, CEO Jung Wook replied "Maybe you can't remember well, we posted up an apology announcement (on their website) right after Jaebum's issue sparked".
I lost all will to speak after hearing his answer, so I did not say a word afterwards.
If they ever said something like "No matter what, the company is responsible to some level as the situation progressed this far; and we apologize to the fans for not having Jaebum with us anymore" at the conference, would the fans be enraged now? Jaebum came to Korea as a teenager, trained for four years, and went through many injuries even after becoming a singer, only to leave the country in shame and disgrace in the end. Is the company really not responsible of anything?
About the manners of six members, I will not go in detail since there are many other postscripts written.
If I may add one thing, Jaebum was not my favorite member in 2PM. But after the conference, I decided stop being a fan of 2PM. As the six members promised to speak with all sincerity to explain the rumors, their words truly were rude with all sincerity. I realized that my support as a fan until now was useless. I don't think I can ever forget their manners and words from that day.
I want you to know that it's already JYPE's fault for publicly declaring the reason for Jaebum's withdrawal as "personal problems"; and the Korean fans - along with ones who were at the conference - are angry because the six members agreed to have that "reason" publicly exposed. Thanks to that, many outrageous rumors about Jaebum's "private life" are produced and spread rapidly in Korean web, as if it's okay to indignify him so bluntly in open public space.
Thank you for reading such a long letter.
Another opinion of an UNDERGROUND representative
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One truly at fault here is JYPE. They did not take care of their contracted artist, neither Jay nor 2PM. The six members are being criticized because of their rude manner at the conference. Some say the members were only trying to make a comfortable atmosphere at the conference and that might've sounded rude. But as a responsible adult, they should not have behaved that way at a conference. Even if it was fans they see, those fans were representing millions of fans worldwide. Their manner at the conference was unprofessional and childish - falling asleep and joking around during the conference - which deserves criticism.
2ONEDAY sincerely thank UNDERGROUND for their help and understanding. UNDERGROUND wrote this letter and translated it themselves. Thank you.
CREDIT: SOURCE: 2ONEDAY.com
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