'Dispatch' disproves various claims made on the FIFTY FIFTY episode of SBS's 'Unanswered Questions'

As controversy over the "biased" position of the SBS documentary program 'Unanswered Questions' continues, media outlet 'Dispatch' has decided to disprove the claims made by unidentified staff and interview participants on 'Unanswered Questions'. 

First, 'Dispatch' checked to confirm the 'Unanswered Questions' claim that ATTRAKT's Jeon Hong Joon never attended FIFTY FIFTY's monthly evaluations. 

According to 'Dispatch' approximately 23 evaluations took place between May of 2020 through June of 2022. The final four members of FIFTY FIFTY were decided during an evaluation in April of 2022, and evaluations for the group's debut song began in June. 

In order to confirm attendees of FIFTY FIFTY's monthly evaluations, 'Dispatch' obtained a photo of the practice studio were an evaluation took place on December 24, 2020. Individuals present in the photo include Director Baek of The Givers, Ahn Sung Il of The Givers, Jeon Hong Joon of ATTRAKT, as well as other reps from ATTRAKT, The Givers, and KAMP. 

The staff responsible for arranging the evaluations and its attendees was, in fact, Director Baek of The Givers. 

Staff exchanges during an evaluation which took place in April of 2022 prove that the employees were aware of Jeon Hong Joon's attendance at this evaluation. One staff wrote, "CEO Jeon can't get his hiccups to stop, so if he goes on during the evaluation... please understand."

Second, 'Dispatch' checked the claim that ATTRAKT staff "threw food prepared by the members' parents onto the floor". 

The issue, according to 'Dispatch', occurred on July 6, 2021. This was the same day that trainees A and B had to write "statements of reflection" in their trainee logs. A wrote, "I will not show a disappointing side again," while B wrote, "I will take time to reflect. I will not become a fool." 

A staff member who was present during the incident clarified that it was not "food" thrown onto the floor, but "snacks". 

Specifically, Director Baek of The Givers was responsible for catching the members hiding a variety of snacks in their dorm. He threw the snacks onto the floor and shouted, "Put it all in the trash, now!".

The FIFTY FIFTY trainees began a dieting program in June of 2021. However, the trainees did not show any weight loss results. To investigate the cause, staff visited the trainees' dorm, and Director Baek listed out all of the snacks which were discovered: 

"Content found during today's emergency inspection. 

Trainee B's locker: chocolate waffle, powder candy, candy, mint chococolate protein cookies, string cheese, vitamin bars, ABC chocolate, cubed sweet potatos, Crunky, etc.

At the dorm: yanggaeng, dried tangerine strips, ice cream, Mon Cher, Subway, pretzels, cream cheese, rice cakes, candy, chestnuts, sweet red bean bread, Haribo gummies, sweet potato chips, sweet potato strips, Belgian waffles, kkokkalcorn, Ritz, candy bars, double double ice cream, all kinds of candy, etc."

Included among the confiscated snacks were a few packages of dried seaweed sent by the members' parents. 

Furious with the trainees for failing to follow their strict dieting plan, Director Baek scolded the girls and had them pick up the snacks to be put into the trash. 

'Dispatch' also went on to address the 'Unanswered Questions' claim that the FIFTY FIFTY members did not receive adequate meals. 

As the trainees prepared for debut, a detox diet was suggested by Ahn Sung Il and Director Baek. Out of the six trainees, five excluding Saena agreed to try out the detox diet. A full list of meals following the detox diet were ordered on June 1. However, the trainees failed to lose weight, and one trainee even gained weight while on the diet. 

Next, 'Dispatch' investigated why earnings from album and digital sales were reported as "0" on ATTRAKT's quarterly financial report. 

Sure enough, the company's quarterly financial report indicated 0 earnings from album and digital sales in Q1 of 2023. The report showed measly earnings such as 25,000 KRW (~ $18.67 USD) and 100,000 KRW (~ $74.69 USD) from broadcast appearances. 

The mistakes in the quarterly financial reports were caused by an accounting department staff at The Givers, responsible for documenting all earnings. 

In fact, according to 'Dispatch', the accounting department at The Givers failed to provide the FIFTY FIFTY members with pay statements for 9 months, since the second quarter of 2022. 

In a set of KakaoTalk messages exchanged between Ahn Sung Il and Jeon Hong Joon, Ahn Sung Il admits that pay statement deliveries were delayed, both to the artists and their parents. Ahn Sung Il then apologized to Jeon Hong Joon for failing to check such matters promptly, and promised that The Givers would explain to the members parents that the issue was the responsibility of The Givers. 

It wasn't until May of 2023 that ATTRAKT was able to correct any mistakes on the pay statements and forward them to the members' parents. 

Finally, 'Dispatch' confirmed that 'Unanswered Questions' had, in fact, told one truth. Producer Ahn Sung Il of The Givers had actually suffered from teeth problems, an issue that Jeon Hong Joon was well-aware of. Jeon even asked The Givers staff to pack "soft foods" for Ahn Sung Il to eat comfortably.