Fans Express Concerns Over Jo Bo-ah’s New Agency

On April 17th, Blade Ent announced that they had established a new subsidiary, called XYZ, in order to expand their actor management business last year.

The forerunner of Blade Ent is Unidus, renowned as the top manufacturer of condoms in the world. In 2017, Unidus acquired Gyeongnam Pharmaceutical and expanded into different industries. Following multiple name modifications, they adopted the name Blade Ent in 2022 and have since been dedicated to entertainment management.

Blade Ent announced on March 22nd that the submission of the company audit report would be delayed, citing a delay in receiving audit reports from their subsidiaries.

XYZ STUDIO, the agency that represents Jo Bo-ah, is a subsidiary of Blade Ent that was established in partnership with Kim Hyung-dae. Kim previously worked in the actor management division at Keyeast. By using Keyeast’s name, the new agency is promoting itself and gaining trust. For instance, they mention that the agency was founded by “Keyeast staff members”and that actors like Jo Bo-ah, Ji Hye-won, and Jang Yoon-joo, who have all previously worked with Keyeast, are now part of their agency.

Despite a series of contract expirations from popular actors such as Kim Eui-sung, Yoo Hae-jin, Go Ah-sung, Lee Dong-hwi, Jung Eun-chae, Ji Hye-won, Jang Yoon-joo, Jung Sung-il, etc. since last year, Keyeast continued to face the same situation with their popular actress Moon Ga-young also choosing not to renew her contract.

According to an insider, former members of Keyeast had already discussed their new company with Jo Bo-ah, and as a result, she signed a contract with them based on their mutual trust.