Blockberry Creative expels Chuu from girl group Loona, accuses her of verbally abusing staff

Chuu has been kicked out of the girl group Loona, the group’s agency Blockberry Creative announced Friday.

The singer was embroiled in legal disputes with the agency since early this year and partially won a lawsuit to nullify her exclusive contract in March.

“The agency has decided to expel Chuu [legal name Kim Ji-woo] from Loona as of Nov. 25, 2022,” the agency said in a statement.

“There has been a lot of talk regarding Chuu this year,” the statement continues. “The agency and other members of Loona have not announced anything for the sake of the group and to avoid worrying fans.

“However, recently, there have been reports that Chuu has been verbally abusive and misusing her power against the staff. It turned out to be true, and the agency’s head is now consoling the staff members. The agency has decided to take responsibility and remove Chuu from the group.

“We apologize to the staff who have been greatly hurt by this incident.”

Loona will now be an 11-member group. Chuu debuted as a member in 2017 and has seen great success in television and advertisement appearances.

BY HALEY YANG [yang.hyunjoo@joongang.co.kr]