JYP has received complaints from Chinese fans that a company claimed to be a partner agency of the South Korean entertainment powerhouse and recruited trainees for money.
JYP said in a statement uploaded onto Weibo, the Chinese counterpart of Twitter, on Friday that it has neither required money from trainees nor organized any events such as summer camps or short-term commissioned training sessions.
The agency also stressed that it has released notifications through verified social media channels, asking fans not to get caught up in fraud. For a legal suit, JYP said it was collecting evidence, accusing the Chinese firm of hurting its image with malicious action.
As K-pop's global popularity soars, fans have become a constant target of swindlers. A 49-year-old South Korean broker was arrested in 2018 for taking money from five people who wanted to become K-pop and K-drama trainees.
The most common case of K-pop related fraud is ticket scams. In November 2018, a woman was given a 10-month prison sentence for selling about 11.1 million won ($9,565) worth of fake concert tickets online.