SM sues TVXQ members for 2.2 bln won

Three members of boy band TVXQ, namely Hero Jaejoong, Micky Yoochun and Xiah Junsu, have been sued a total 2.2 billion won, equivalent to nearly two million dollars, by major talenthouse SM Entertainment.

SM, in charge of discovering and managing the five-member band, had taken legal action against the three singers on Monday, filing an objection against a court's decision ordering provisional disposition of their working contracts as well as a lawsuit reclaiming their validity.

"We are demanding compensation for damages the agency and the remaining two members have suffered from the cosmetics business the three have undertaken and them also cancelling a concert in Shenzhen," SM stated in its complaint.

SM went onto explain that the conflict between the two parties arose from the cosmetics business the three singers invested in last year, after the agency claimed the singers would be violating their exclusive contract by using the group's name and portrait rights for the business.

"That is when they denied the validity of their working contract and filed for provisional disposition. They then one-sidedly decided to cancel on their schedules following the court ruling, inflicting immense damages to the remaining two members," SM claimed.

In late July last year, Hero, Micky and Xiah had asked a court in late July to nullify their 13-year exclusive contract with SM to which the court ruled that the agency will not interfere in their individual activities.

The five-man band had stopped working as a group in Korea ever since, although carrying on their activities in Japan including making TV and magazine appearances as well as releasing albums, until announcing on April 3 that the group would no longer pursue a singing career together.

TVXQ has been one of the most successful K-pop acts in Asia since their debut in 2004 with reportedly the largest fanbase in the world.

They were particularly successful in the Japanese music industry, becoming the first foreign artist to top the Oricon singles charts six times with a single last year and also the first foreign artist in 15 years to place their single and album simultaneously within the top three slots of Oricon's singles and albums chart.

Reporter : Lim Hye-seon lhsro@asiae.co.kr
Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@asiae.co.kr