Haknyeon: Fighting for his Innocence in an industry set to fail him

I write this blog today utterly devastated by the news that came out this morning regarding Ju Haknyeon of The Boyz. The One Hundred Label has decided to suspend Ju Haknyeon from The Boyz after a scandal surfaced regarding him. Today is a very sad day for all deobi. There was a lot of hope moving into this year for deobi and The Boyz. Sadly, this year has so far only really brought a lot of disappointment and sadness.

This blog post probably won't be like the rest of mine because I can't look at this from an unbiased perspective and I have a lot of feelings regarding this topic today. I have been a deobi for a few years now and I have never regretted it for a second. I only ever saw an extremely talented and dedicated group who loved their fans and had so much admiration and respect for each other. I couldn't tell you really why their success was not as big as other groups of their time. I have speculated but I don't really understand it myself, I just know that this group was not dealt good cards.

Suspension From The Boyz

Early this week it came out that Ju Haknyeon was going on a temporary hiatus from all activities. This is something that has happened before so deobi were sad but unexpecting of anything else. However, this morning June 18th One Hundred issued a statement saying they were suspending Ju Haknyeon from their label. only a couple days after the hiatus announcement.

Let me start by explaining all that came out regarding this suspension. Ju Haknyeon had reportedly gone out with friends and met up with an influencer named Asuka Kiara. Mind you he was seen drinking with her and other friends well into the night and there was allegedly some flirting between the two but that was all that was reported.

I will also state that it is now being alleged that he may have partaken in prostitution. However, there is not real evidence to back this claim up, but it is something to consider. I am currently only seeing one non-credited news outlet reporting this story. Saying not only Haknyeon but a producer in One Hundred are being suspended because of this allegation.

Sources Sources Sources

I would like to update this information as we now have a statement from Ju Haknyeon himself. He recently wrote an apology letter to fans and posted it for fans to see. Haknyeon says in the letter, " “Hello, this is Ju Haknyeon. First of all, I sincerely apologize to the fans and everyone who were shocked and concerned by the recent news. On May 30, 2025, I did attend a private gathering with an acquaintance, and it is true that I was at that location. However, I want to make it very clear that I have never engaged in prostitution or any illegal activities, contrary to what has been reported in the articles and rumors. I am deeply reflecting on my actions and once again sincerely apologize to everyone who was surprised or disappointed.”

Since this came directly from the source and is his official statement this is what I will go off of. He did not have to issue any statement especially if the claims were true staying low would have been the best option. The fact he saw how the media was trying to twist this story to get more views, and he immediately spoke out to clear it up proves to me this story was false. like I said it was not a credible source, and I really didn't believe it to begin with. I hope that this false rumor can stop spreading. He admitted to meeting with Asuka at the hotel and having drinks so I don't believe he would lie about the last part.

New Developments

Now we have even new developments in this controversy with Haknyeon. He as of this morning issued yet again another statement regarding this situation. below is a roughly translated account of his statement.

In this statement we see that he again states he did not partake in any illegal activities such as prostitution. He calls out all news outlets to put evidence forward of this illegal behavior. Which is a very brave move that shows me he has nothing to hide. He also says that he will be taking legal action against all news outlets who have been spreading false information and defamation. I am very happy he is doing this because if these claims are false this is horrendous, and these outlets deserve punishment.

More surprisingly though we learn from this statement that Haknyeon did not decide to terminate his contract of his own will. He says he did not agree to leave the company at all but that the company had already made their statement without anything being finalized essentially pushing him out of the group without his say. He goes on to say they asked for a large sum of money for terminating a contract he did not agree to terminate. He says he is taking legal action against One Hundred for this and has hope that everything will clear itself up.

In my opinion I think that One Hundred knew how this story would be skewed and instead of wanting to spend the money and exhaust the resources required to protect their artist they found this easier. It is not uncommon to see companies force their artist out when something goes wrong, but this is ridiculous. They are already using these resources to protect the other members in scandals right now but can't bother to help him. Again, it boils down to the company Haknyeon was with, which is ridiculous too because she has been retired for years. He even says this in his statement, but it is literally a company's job to protect their artist and One Hundred is not doing that for any of them.

Haknyeon has been in this group for 7 years you can't just force him out and expect him and fans to accept this and stay quiet. This is a perfect example of a corrupt company that does not really care about their Idols. It is sad because TBZ have not yet built-up trust between their new company and themselves and clearly their protection is not a high priority for One Hundred. I don't know what will happen, but I know the truth will come out.

I hope the best for Haknyeon and I hope he gets the justice he deserves. This is all so unfair, and they keep pushing him into a false narrative making him the bad guy he isn't. I also hope that TBZ can move past all this because I don't think they can leave this company at this point. If they tried to leave, I think it would be the end of TBZ, so I just hope a brighter light is at the end of this very dark tunnel. I also don't think Haknyeon will ever come back to TBZ which hurts my heart, but I am glad he is fighting back. I think the narrative of mistreatment of idols being allowed is changing and him standing up and taking action is a huge feat. I am very proud of him, but I wish it wasn't something he was having to do.

The Truth

I would like to update this story now that we have actual legal rulings and Ju Haknyeon has pressed charges on media outlets that spread false news.

Haknyeon has decided to sue the media let that originally released the false information about Haknyeon participating in prostitution. He has sued for 1 billion won and interest to be paid annually. This is really such a big thing because you have never really seen idols stick up for themselves in this way. Police also dropped any charges against Haknyeon on suspicion of him partaking in prostitution. Meaning they found those allegations untrue. So, we now have legal proof that he did not participate in these allegations. Even Asuka Kiara made many statements saying it was never that kind of relationship with Haknyeon. She came to his defense pretty soon after all the allegations came out.

Now this leaves us waiting to hear the ruling and I hope it is in favor of Haknyeon. It also leaves fans furious because now we know Haknyeon was kicked out of the group for no real reason leading me and others to believe this was One Hundreds plan all along. They used the first scandal they could to get him out of the group. It is in all such a sad situation, but I am happy that haknyeon has been able to clear his name and fight back. I hope he gets the justice he deserves from both the media outlet and One Hundred.

To sum this up I want to thank Haknyeon for everything he has done in TBZ and for deobi. I will always remember the vlog when they were in New York and him going around on a sweets tour, that's when I knew I adored him. He never cared about showing that side of him the one that loved eating and that really made me happy. I also think his laugh and smile warmed my heart in so many ways. He is so talented and has always deserved better. I feel like I saw that light and passion dim from him the past few albums and I hope that the future brings back that light. I hope it brings back that smile and laugh. I am sorry we couldn't protect you and it ended this way. OT11 forever.