“We would like to, once again, apologize for any concern caused by recent events,” the agency said in a news release Friday. “After careful consideration and discussions with Jessi regarding her future activities, we have mutually agreed to terminate her contract, as of Oct. 18, at Jessi’s request.”
“We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Jessi for her time with us and wish her all the best in her future endeavors.”
JTBC reported on Oct. 11 that an 18-year-old fan approached Jessi to request a photo on Sept. 29. Jessi turned down the request, and the fan apologized. The fan was about to leave the scene when a member of the group of people who appeared to be with her struck him in the face.
Jessi, when questioned by police after being found at a nearby bar, claimed not to be acquainted with the perpetrator of the alleged assault, stating that the incident was the first time she’d seen him.
The artist was summoned for police questioning again on Wednesday night, where she reiterated that she did not know the perpetrator.
The suspect remains unidentified and at large as of press time.
Jessi was reported to police in 2013 for beating up a woman in a club in central Seoul’s Itaewon. The accuser ultimately dropped the charges but did email news outlets including The Korea JoongAng Daily; she claimed that she’d only abandoned the case due to administrative complications, not because Jessi was innocent, JTBC reported Wednesday.
“I didn’t dismiss the charges because Jessi and her two girlfriends were innocent,” she said in the email to JTBC. “I had to dismiss the charges in order to move back to the U.S. I couldn’t return with an open case, and it was one of the most heartbreaking decisions of my life.”
BY YOON SEUNG-JIN [yoon.seungjin@joongang.co.kr]
