Brave Entertainment has responded to Samuel Kim's claims about leaving the agency.

Samuel Kim's reps previously cited manipulation and loss of trust as the artist's reasons for departing from the label, but Brave Entertainment has denied the reports. On June 11, Brave Entertainment released the following official statement:

"Hello, this is Brave Entertainment's legal representative Chaeum. We wish to give Brave Entertainment's response to statements made by Samuel's reps.

Samuel's reps claimed Brave Entertainment forced the artist to participate in activities related to the private business of the agency's CEO and the artist did not receive proper income statements. However, this is completely untrue. Our rebuttal details are as follows.

Firstly, the claim that the artist was forcibly involved in promoting the agency CEO's private business is untrue.

It's true Brave Entertainment's CEO is participating in a business that utilizes block chain technology on a music streaming service platform, and Samuel was scheduled to perform at a music platform expo as an artist of Brave Entertainment.

However, the above business is completely different from cryptocurrency, which is becoming a social issue for its unstable nature. Samuel's performance at the mentioned blockchain-related event was not to promote the above business or for the CEO's personal gain, it was to provide more exposure to Samuel in an industry combining music with the latest technology as Brave Entertainment's rising K-pop star.

In order for Samuel to perform at the event, Brave Entertainment signed a standard contract for events and concerts, and Samuel participated in the event and was given the compensation stated in the contract. Samuel's representative claimed Brave Entertainment showed fake contracts multiple times, but Brave Entertainment has never drafted a fake contract. The enter process from signing the contract for the event and making the payment for Samuel's participation, was done legally.

Not only this, but the agency's CEO spoke with Samuel's mother before he left for Japan for the performance and thoroughly explained to her the event was not to promote cryptocurrency but to promote Samuel on the new music platform. The schedule was carried out with explicit consent of Samuel's mother. Throughout this, Brave Entertainment has never once forced Samuel to do anything. We've not involved Samuel in any cryptocurrency business, not just the one stated above. We have evidence, including all the text messages exchanged, to support our claims.

The claim that the agency's CEO forcibly involved Samuel in his private business is completely untrue.

Secondly, Samuel's reps claims Brave Entertainment admitted to being at fault for the above event. However, the truth is a misunderstanding occurred among fans who believed Samuel was participating in a cryptocurrency business. Brave Entertainment released a statement to better communicate to fans the exact nature of the event and correct the misunderstanding. This is in no way the agency admitting any fault. The full statement is still up on the Brave Entertainment-run fan cafe.

Thirdly, Samuel's reps stated they did not receive a proper income statement. However, not only has Brave Entertainment delivered the income statements to Samuel's parents as they requested, the label has also provided other documents on other activities the label provided for Samuel, including vocal and dance training, foreign language education, and personal training. Samuel's father personally visited the agency building to confirm the contents of the documents. However, there was a difference in opinion regarding the specific payment amount, and Samuel's mother requested Brave Entertainment send her an income statement that reflected her opinion of what she believed was right.

Brave Entertainment provided Samuel's mother with a detailed income statement showing the costs of album production, marketing, and other expenses we paid as Samuel's management company as well as from concerts, album sales, and events. We also gave her a detailed explanation of the income statement.

Though the income statement's content was justifiable, Samuel's mother requested the agency pay an excessive sum of money that didn't take into consideration production costs, and she refused to accept the income statement given by the label.

Fourthly, Samuel's reps claimed they sent content certification documents in March of 2019 with a request to receive a response in 2 weeks, and they also claimed Brave Entertainment sent them a response after 2 months. This is not true.

On March 5, 2019, Samuel's mother sent a document of content certification through legal reps to terminate the contract, and Brave Entertainment received the document on March 7, 2019, and after speaking with their legal representatives, they sent a response on March 21, 2019, which is exactly 2 weeks after the documents were received. Therefore, the claim the agency took almost 2 months to send a response is completely untrue.

Fifthly, claims were made Samuel participated in all of his scheduled activities, but this is not true.

Samuel's mother would choose which scheduled activities were to her liking, and Samuel only participated in the activities she chose. For all other activities, Samuel did not show up, and Brave Entertainment incurred damages from breaching contracts for overseas performances.

Brave Entertainment staff spoke with Samuel's representatives multiple times to give a detailed explanation for activities that had been scheduled before the document of content certification had been sent. This included recording a logo song for a broadcast company, overseas promotions that were already announced to fans, and awards shows Samuel was set to win an award. However, Samuel's mother one-sidedly refused to allow her son to attend those events without giving a proper explanation for her refusal.

As we've explained, the situation is different from the claims made by Samuel's reps in many aspects, and Brave Entertainment will do its best to correct any information. We plan to also seek legal action for the damages the agency has suffered due to false information.

Brave Entertainment is saddened by the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the artist and his family as the agency has been through all of his highs and lows until now. Also, the agency finds it very unfortunate this incident caused many people a great deal of concern. Brave Entertainment will do all it can through the legal process to resolve this situation.

Thank you."