On September 23, Kang Daniel met with MyDaily at the Ktown4U Café in Samseong-dong, Gangnam, Seoul, where he reflected on his career.
Kang Daniel first gained fame in 2017 by winning the Mnet audition program 'Produce 101' and went on to debut as a member of the group Wanna One. After transitioning to a solo career, he faced a legal dispute in 2019 over his exclusive contract with LM Entertainment, which was resolved after seven months. Following this, Kang established his own one-man agency, KONNECT Entertainment.
However, in May of this year, Kang filed a lawsuit against KONNECT’s major shareholder, identified as “A,” through his legal representative, accusing them of forgery, embezzlement, breach of trust, and other charges. KONNECT has since entered the process of shutting down, and Kang Daniel recently signed an exclusive contract with his current agency, Artistic Round Alliance (ARA).
Reflecting on running his own company, Kang shared, “The psychological pressure was immense. Now that I’m no longer handling the day-to-day operations, I feel much lighter and can focus solely on my work. When other artists ask me, 'Should I start my own agency too?' I honestly tell them not to. I think being part of a company is the best option.”
He added, “If I think about it seriously, the world can be a tough place. While I can laugh about it now, going through two different disputes with companies taught me to be more cautious. I realized that I need to be more careful as a person.”
Kang also said, “Though I’ve experienced similar situations twice now, I handled the most recent one carefully and thoughtfully. I feel like I put what I learned from before to good use.”
Kang Daniel made his return to the music scene after a near 15 month hiatus with the release of his fifth mini-album, 'ACT.'
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