TVXQ Fails to Reach Settlement with SM Entertainment

Members of K-pop idol group TVXQ and its agency have failed to reach a court-mediated settlement of a legal battle over what the group called “unfair” terms of their contract.

A Seoul district court said Wednesday it called in three members of the boy band at the end of September to mediate a settlement with their agency, SM Entertainment, but the mediation collapsed.

Court officials said the members refused to accept the mediation, leaving the court to make a ruling on the injunction in the near future.

The controversy over the five-member group’s working contract touched off in late July after three of its members ― Micky, Xiah and Hero ― filed an injunction with the Seoul Administrative Court to nullify the validity of their contract with the agency. The other two members, Max and U-Know, did not take part in the action.

According to the legal document filed, the agency prohibited their freedom as artists by claiming that the activities of the group and its members belonged to the agency, requiring them to follow its demands to appear at certain performances and broadcasts, and to stay under its wing for 13 years.

TVXQ debuted in 2004 with the album “Hug” and shot to stardom in Korea, Japan and other parts of Asia. Their subsequent albums were well received and their fourth album, “Mirotic,” released last year, sold 500,000 copies here despite sluggishness in the local record market.

Credit: Korea Times

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