ALPHA DRIVE ONE's Kim Geon-woo Sues WAKEONE After Six Months Sidelined

ALPHA DRIVE ONE's Kim Geon-woo, 23, has filed a lawsuit against his own agency, WAKEONE, asking a court to confirm his status as a member of the group. He has been off the roster for roughly six months.

The suit is widely read as a push to force his return to activities. WAKEONE confirmed the case on the 25th, saying it is "a matter in which related legal proceedings are currently underway" and asking for understanding that it cannot discuss specifics. That is an acknowledgment, not a defense. The agency has not said what it will argue.

How he ended up sidelined

Kim was accused of making inappropriate remarks toward staff during the filming of a piece of content before the group's debut. As the controversy grew, he suspended activities in April. The source does not detail the remarks themselves, and neither side has publicly addressed them in this case.

ALPHA DRIVE ONE has since worked as a seven-member act without him. The eight-member group was formed on Mnet's survival show Boys II Planet last year, so the lineup change came while the group was still a rookie act.

A status-confirmation suit asks one narrow question: is he still a member under the contract? Even a win there would not settle whether WAKEONE and the group's fans would welcome him back onstage. Either way, the dispute has moved from a quiet suspension to a public court record, which is messy for a young group.