In the history of the music industry, there have been continuing issues of certain labels taking advantage of artists, leading to legal battles. Even in the K-pop world, fans often hear news of artists filing lawsuits for proper fair treatment. Over the recent months, we've experienced the feud between ADOR and NewJeans, SM Entertainment and EXO's ChenBaekXi, and many more.
Recently, DPR (Dream Perfect Regime Co., Ltd.) fans were shocked when DPR Ian took to social media, exposing an alleged mistreatment by a labelmate and financial exploitation.
On October 7, DPR Ian wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) account, calling out Scott Kim (DPR REM), a former core member and business manager of DPR, of financial exploitation. Ian wrote, "Again? Do it again??? Aaaaagain
Do it again? Then tell them to do it again by paying money, you f****g b*****ds? Or just don't leave irresponsibly without any responsibility, at least try to do something, f***. Now," He continued, "You're leaving your spot empty, doing twice as much while spending three times the money, and asking to raise the brand more? Artist, director, creative director, producer? Doing the exact same thing. From now on, can you just make money? Where does the money just come from? What are we supposed to do for the money to appear?? Just make it bigger??? Lol. The past few billion, are you just burying that in the ground?"
This update follows an ongoing legal battle between Hong Da Bin (DPR Live), who took a significant step, filing a formal complaint against DPR, its former CEO, Kim, and Regime International Co., Ltd, bringing further shock. The complaint revolves around allegations of 'unfair distribution of profits,' 'non-payment of settlement money and settlement data,' and 'non-payment of world tour appearance fees and settlement materials.'
Although the company’s internal struggles have long stayed out of the spotlight, DPR Ian’s recent callout has given fans a glimpse into the underlying issues.
DPR Ian claimed that he greatly contributed to the creative work, without receiving proper financial compensation. In his posts, he claimed he received less than the secretary, and expressed frustration and anger over the misinformation about him being the reason for DPR Live's departure from the company.
In 2023, DPR Live announced he would be promoting under his birth name, Hong Da Bin, leaving DPR in 2023. Over the course of the legal dispute, it has been revealed, Hong Da Bin was no longer able to use the DPR name due to trademark issues.
After Ian’s social media post, DPR Live fired back on his own account, revealing his frustrations. He claimed that DPR’s current CEO, Jeff, had caused a rift between him and Ian. He shared, "Scott has been amicable for quite some time, while Jeff has been the only fucking pain in the ass when it came to the whole negotiation process, especially when it came to tour contract issues and ending negotiation terms that should have been settled ages ago. His manipulating everybody in the middle is really getting f****g out of hand."
As the dispute continues to unfold, fans are left watching closely, expressing concern over the inner workings of DPR and the well-being of its artists, including DPR Ian.
They commented:
"That's so awful. I'm not a huge fan of DPR Ian, but I saw a few of the crash-out tweets, and I hope he's in a place where he can step back, breathe, and heal. That's a horrible situation to end up in, and I hope he knows he's got loving fans everywhere willing to support him and give him the privacy he needs. I wish him the best, and I hope he has people he can rely on for support and help."
"I really loved DPR the first few years, their videos were simple but beautifully crafted with great cinematography, amazing warm and catchy hip hop beats, Dabin on vocals was slaying, I was always curious what happened to the group, I even enjoyed their BTS docuseries they released. The music industry seems like such a mess, always so much chaos and fighting behind the scenes, even if they hide it well, such a bummer to see it play out like this yet again. They always said DPR was a family, but I didn't think they meant like the families that fight and don't talk to each other lol."
"I really feel for Ian. As someone with DID myself, I know how destabilising this is going to be for him. I am hoping and praying he has solid people around him to help."
"He edits/VFX, directs, creates concepts, produces, etc. and got paid less in 10 years than what a secretary made in 1? Yikes. DPR REM sounds like an a**."
"I can't be the only one who's upset that the only times he gets mentioned is during stuff like this. It's never for his achievements. Not to mention, he isn't promoting himself as K-pop artist despite being an idol 10 years ago."
"There was a tweet that seemed to have implied Live forgave Scott, and Ian seems pissed af about it."
"Damn, I'm a huge fan of this crew, never thought there were problems going on behind the scenes, hope the best for him!"
"This is an absolutely insane and scummy situation as a whole like actually wtf??!"
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