I can't believe the hearing got delayed !!! >.<
[TRANS] [INFO JYJ LAWSUIT] "18 Jan was originally supposed to be the date for pleading. On 12 Jan, SM brought forward a petition to delay the date for pleading. On 14 Jan, JYJ submitted their preparatory documents ( SM's petition to delay the pleading was disapproved and they were supposed to go ahead with the original planned date). On 17 Jan, the Court decided to hold the pleadings on the 18th as originally planned. The person in charge of finance at SM appealed as an eye witness. On 18 Jan, this same person did not make an appearance at the pleadings. This became the reason why the date for pleading was pushed to March. The eyewitness who did not appear in court is not from JYJ's side but was an eyewitness brought forward by SM. But because the person who proposed himself as an eyewitness did not turn up, the reason why the judge keeps delaying the date is cos regardless of whether he is from JYJ or SM's side, it will not make a difference to this decision. For JYJ's side, because the judgement keeps getting delayed, after hearing this decision which will be a blow to their entertainment activities, they are appealing to the judgement group to first release a part of their decision (not the final decision with regards to the case, but what they have decided on so far). "
I can't believe the hearing got delayed to the 15th of march, it's 2 months away, 2 fucking more months to wait ! The whole story started in 2009 for god's sake, when will it end ?!
And seriously, SM's witness didn't show up ? How lame is that SM ? We all know that when a witness doesn't show up the judge has to delay the hearing in order to be "fair" so who are you kidding here ? Well, you wanted a delay and now you got it, I guess you're happy...
And people still defend SM by saying that it isn't their fault that the hearing got delayed since it was the court's decision and that SM is a great company etc. *shakes head*
Please, read this too ^^ :
" 2006
CF Model Yoo Minho’s Lawsuit Against SM Ent.- Courts Rule To Nullify Entertainers’ Slave Contracts
2007
Oppression in Our Entertainers’ Contracts: Kim Jihoon As SM Ent.’s Slave?
A Talent Agency That’s Unable to Change It’s Habit of Signing Slave Contracts
2009
TVXQ’s Complaints: “A 15 Year Contract Including The Period of Their Mandatory Military Service, and Profits of 0.4% Per Person”
“We are exhausted both physically and mentally from the intensive schedules both planned and initiated one-sidedly by our agency for the last 5 years since we debuted.”
“Except for 1 week in an entire year, we ran schedules that allowed us to get only 3-4 hours of sleep per day.”
“A 13 year contract, in reality, meant a life-long contract. Including the time we would need to complete our military service, this contract would lengthen to over 15 years. This meant that there were still almost 10 years left in our contracts. Realistically, this meant that we would be bound until we retired from the Entertainment Industry.”
“If you read the terms and conditions outlined in the contract regarding profits from album sales, you’ll find that, only under the condition that over 500 000 copies of an album were sold, would the members then, each receive around $8500 USD. But if the minimum number of albums sold were not met, they would not earn a single cent of their own profits.”
“It was only on February 6th, 2009 that this condition was finally revised. However, even after this amendment, the division of profits was still that each member was only able to receive 0.4%-1% of their profits, depending on the sales of the particular release.”
Park Chansong: “TVXQ’s ‘Slave Contract’ With SM Finally Exposed.”
*Because the members of TVXQ were minors (under the age of 19), the longest possible period for a contract of 13 years was decided upon so that, compared to the general length of activity for an entertainer, this would mean that they would be bound for life.
* They established a penalty that was two times more than they would have made even if they had continued with their activities for the full contract period.
* The appropriate documents was not shown to those involved at the time the contract was established
* They stabbed the members in the back with the condition that they would not be paid for their work unless over 500 000 copies of the album were sold, and only $8500 USD each even if this was the case.
* “The agency abused the fact that the members of TVXQ had been minors and in the vulnerable position of a new artist to establish an unfair contract and claim an unjustified portion of the profits.”
The Lawsuit Between Hankyung and SM…The Details of Super Junior’s Contract Exposed
The biggest issue was concerning the division of profits. Only after selling more than 50 000 copies of an album do the members of Super Junior receive 2% of the profits. Because of the current state of the music industry, not only is it not an easy feat to sell more than 50 000 copies of an album to begin with, but depending on the conditions of each of their contracts, the actual sum of the profits going back to each of the members may be a mere fraction of that 2%. Even in the case of their 3rd album, that sold 250 000 copies, the sum allocated to each of the 13 members was not even $3500 USD.
Not only that, but another big problem lies in the fact that 250 000 copies in the current state of the music industry, is the most impressive looking number to have sold. Also, Super Junior’s contract period is also 13 years, like TVXQ. Because in the case of Hankyung, he will only have been free from SM Entertainment at the age of 35, this contract is being evaluated as a slave contract. In addition, in the case that he did chose to end the contract, the penalty would be comparable to the sum of 3 times the total invested into the group by SM and 2 times the total fortune that would have been amassed throughout the full period of the contract.
(slave contract)
Claims of “Forging the Signatures of the 3 Members of TVXQ for the Shenzhen, China Concert”
According to statements released by the representative of the 3 TVXQ members on the 24th, “Korean and Chinese fans brought it to the attention of the authorities that the signatures of the 3 DBSK members on the confirmation documents for the concert in Shenzhen may have been forged. Upon closer investigation, it has been revealed that this was indeed true.”
In addition, he added that “SM has aroused issues as serious as sending someone to forge the signatures despite the fact that the 3 TVXQ members never agreed to participate the in Shenzhen concert.”
(Forgery of legal documents)
[+ ofc all the problems with Shinhwa and H.O.T. that we already know about :
"TIME asia
Show Me the Money
When they were at the height of their popularity, members of the Korean boy band H.O.T. began to suspect their golden fame was dross. The contracts they had signed with production house SM Entertainment called for each band member to receive royalties of less than 1 for every CD sold; members of other groups were getting 17. Arithmetic revealed the ugly truth: whenever one of their albums reached the magic 1 million-copies-sold milestone, each H.O.T. member could count on payment totaling a paltry $10,000. Heck, U.S. pop diva Mariah Carey earlier this year was paid $28 million by music label EMI to not record four albums. After fruitless renegotiations with SM Entertainment founder Lee Su Man last spring, three of H.O.T.'s five members split from the company, killing the band and breaking the hearts of millions of teenage fans. "We would complain that we never had enough money," says ex-H.O.T. singer Tony An, "and Lee Su Man would say: 'I even pay for your gas, what are you complaining about?'"
Next week, the Korea Fair Trade Commission is expected to release results of a three-month investigation into possible collusion by the music industry's biggest production houses, which are suspected of practices that allegedly limit rivalry and keep CD prices artificially high. "We want free and fair competition," says Lee Dong Kyu, a spokesperson with the governmental watchdog body. "We want consumers to be able to enjoy high-quality music at low prices."
But another part of the commission's probe examines allegations that naive young singers, willing to cut any deal for a shot at fame, are being locked into unfair "slave contracts" that enrich their managers while leaving the stars in relative penury. The issue first gained attention in 1999 when a three-sister act called Hans Band sued its production company, Yedang Entertainment, claiming its contract was grossly unfair and, moreover, it had only been paid $15,000-a fraction of what it was owed-after two successful albums. Some reports said the popular stars received welfare payments to make ends meet. After suits and countersuits, Yedang agreed to cut two years off the band's five-year contract.
Industry executives defend the country's music industry system, under which fledgling singers serve apprenticeships with production companies before going commercial. The firms foot the bill for music and dance training, for stars' cars, costumes, managers and other expenses. Producers estimate it costs about $400,000 to groom and launch a new performer. Until outlays sunk into the careers of rookies have been amortized, producers are loath to cut them a bigger piece of the pie.
Korea's big names and big talents aren't on welfare, of course-most can afford the expensive trappings of the pop star lifestyle. But An says his resentment of his former employer, SM Entertainment, doesn't stem from greed. An is sore that he was treated like a perishable commodity rather than as a person. If Lee had been willing to address their contract concerns, "we probably wouldn't have left," An says sadly. "It was more about the human touch than the money."
- With reporting by Kim Yeoshin/Seoul ]
Anyways, let's stay strong and wait for the 15th march, it's all we can do now...