‘Five Fingers’ producers slams Core Contents Media for T-ara’s Eunjung withdrawal controversy

The producers for SBS weekend drama ‘Five Fingers’ have finally broken their silence on August 29th and revealed their official stance regarding the withdrawal of T-ara’s Eunjung from the drama.

The production company revealed, “There were continuous speculative reports coming out all this while, but we chose not to respond to any of them. We chose to remain silent because this was the last considerable act that we could offer to Eunjung.”

With regards to the ‘Hwayoung contract termination’ issue which some say was the catalyst for Eunjung’s withdrawal, the production company said, “We waited patiently for Eunjung’s agency to resolve the issue. We concluded our press conference in the worst ever way possible. But there was still a lot of speculation going around, so we decided to have an emergency meeting.”

As for the PPL issue which was pinpointed as the main cause of Eunjung’s withdrawal, the production company replied, “Due to the issues, we had already lost around 10 billion Korean won. It was a loss that could not be recovered even if Eunjung withdrew while the drama was already airing.”

With regards to the accusations that they had asked Eunjung to sign a new contract, which had unfair stipulations for her, to replace the original contract she had signed, the production company said, “We never sent any official documents. The new contract that Core Contents Media is saying was a proposal that they suggested. They knew we were discussing Eunjung’s withdrawal, so they propose to lower their conditions and be held responsible for any compensation. This is not a decision that the production company can make with regards to withdrawing anyone.”

The production company stated, “As speculation continued to mount even after the drama’s broadcast and doubts began to surface over Core Contents Media’s ability to manage the controversy, we decided to hold an emergency meeting. We then decided on Eunjung’s withdrawal from the drama. We also considered Eunjung’s feelings and suggested that she withdrew on her own. But we never thought that Eunjung’s agency would fire accusations back at us.

As for the decision to only remove Eunjung after the press conference, the production company replied, “We felt that the bullying rumours were just rumours and that things will get better shortly. But the controversy continued to stir even after the broadcast had begun and showed no signs of getting better. Moreover, Eunjung was playing a leading role not a supporting one. So we had to make a tough decision for everyone’s sake. If Core Contents Media continues to stir controversy, we won’t hesitate to implement hard hitting measures against them.”