[OSENWORLD] Six members of Osaka OjoGang — winners of Street Woman Fighter 3 — have broken their silence, accusing leader IBUKI’s manager of repeated mismanagement and claiming that a promise to dismiss him was never fulfilled.
On September 9, Kyoka, Minami, Uwa, Junna, Hana, and Ruu issued a joint statement on social media, apologizing for the confusion caused by the group’s internal disunity: “We sincerely apologize for causing concern to so many people due to these issues.”
Allegations Against IBUKI’s Manager
The members revealed that IBUKI’s longtime personal manager became OjoGang’s official manager when the crew was formed. According to them, this arrangement led to a series of problems:
– Lack of clear explanation about tour contracts or schedules.
– Unpaid or unclear performance fees, with deadlines repeatedly missed.
– Work offers for both the group and individuals directed only to the manager, with no transparency.
– Lost opportunities for group and solo activities due to unilateral decision-making.
They added that during Street Woman Fighter 3, they dedicated themselves to winning, but behind the scenes, the manager failed to handle their activities and compensation fairly.
A Broken Promise
The six members stated that after confronting IBUKI and the manager in an online meeting, IBUKI apologized and promised to dismiss him. “We believed those words and decided to rebuild trust so that all seven members could perform together,” they explained. “However, that promise was not kept.”
As a result, the six decided to move forward on their own: “This tour was meant as a thank-you to fans who supported us, so we resolved to continue the tour together as six members. It is not right for speculation and misinformation to spread, which is why we chose to tell the truth ourselves.”
Conflicting Accounts
The conflict comes after IBUKI accused tour organizer Route59 of excluding her without proper consultation, alleging unfair demands during contract negotiations. Route59 responded on September 9, countering that IBUKI’s manager requested undisclosed side conditions — including demands that performance fees not be written into contracts — which they said were unacceptable.
Next Steps
The six members concluded: “We will revisit the situation and sincerely update fans on OjoGang’s future activities. We are deeply sorry to have caused confusion.”
OjoGang performed at the Seoul concerts on September 6–7 without IBUKI, and organizers have announced she will also miss the upcoming Busan stop on September 13.
/k_inside@osen.co.kr
