Wonder Girls, JYPE deny mistreatment

By Han Sang-hee

Staff reporter

Girl group Wonder Girls and the group's agency JYP Entertainment (JYPE) denied the accusations of mistreatment claimed by Daniel Gauss, their English tutor, saying that they were not true.

Their response came after news that group members were mistreated by the agency during the group's time in the U.S., was reported Tuesday night.

According to Jung wook, the current head of JYPE which was founded by singer and producer Park Jin-young also known as JYP, the girls were not newcomers and if they sensed there was a problem, they would have said something about it.

``If the girls felt they were being mistreated during their activities both here and in the United States, this would have been expressed in some way or other,'' he said.

``The claim that the girls were not covered by health insurance is not true. It doesn't make any sense,'' he added.

Meanwhile, Sun-ye, wrote on the group's official fan Web site that what the English tutor claimed was not true, especially the part regarding her family. Gauss claimed that the member had to perform in Sanya, China, despite the fact that her father had lapsed into a coma.

``When I heard the news that my father was hospitalized, I packed up my bags and flew to Korea. The other members were also scheduled to return to Korea a week later, and so I was able to take care of my father, who fortunately recovered, and join the members afterwards,'' she wrote.

Fellow member Ye-eun expressed her opinions on Twitter.

``I must say one thing. One day during recording, I said I thought I was coming down with the flu. (Park Jin-young) gave me a box of multi-vitamins… Another day he just came by our dorm bringing five jars of organic honey telling me I should eat a spoon of it every morning because it's good for my throat. He would always give us a card on our birthdays, (filled) with words from his heart. These are the `unfair' treatments we've gotten up until now,'' she tweeted.

Regarding the issue about illegal housing, Sun-ye explained that the JYPE building was originally used as a student dormitory.

``Basically, we made a careful decision regarding the agency's proposal of moving us to the U.S. It's been a year since we came over here and we are happy and grateful for everything. The claims made by our former English tutor are hard to understand even for us, and it's a shame that something like this happened when we are preparing for a comeback,'' she wrote.

Jung also explained that the girls were offered a place in New Jersey but they decided for themselves that they wanted to stay in Manhattan. When it came to paying a fine due to their illegal housing, Jung said that the agency was checking on what exactly happened.

Gauss, who claimed that he worked as the group's English tutor from October 2009 to May 2010, alleged that the girls were treated badly by the agency when they were performing and working in the U.S. through an email sent to The Korea Times.

The Wonder Girls are planning to return with a new album ``2 Different Tears'' Sunday.

원더걸스 부당대우설 부인

인기그룹 원더걸스와 소속사인 JYP 엔터테인먼트는 그룹멤버들이 부당 대우를 받았다는 영어교사 다니엘 가우스의 주장이 사실이 아니라고 부인했다.

이에 앞서 화요일 저녁 원더걸스가 미국 활동 중 소속사에 의해 부당 대우를 받았다는 뉴스가 보도되었다.

음반 프로듀서 겸 가수인 박진영(JYP)이 만든 JYPE 의 현 대표인 정욱씨에 따르면 여자 단원들은 신인이 아니며 문제를 감지했다면 이에 대해 무언가 불평이 있었을 것이다.

그는 “소녀들이 서울과 미국에서 활동 중 부당대우를 받았다면 어떤 식으로든지 표출되었을 것”이라고 말했다.