Court rules in partial favor of TVXQ legal motion

Three members of five-man boy band TVXQ -- namely Hero Jaejoong, Micky Yoochun and Xiah Junsu -- have been granted partial victory in their request to nullify their exclusive contract with SM Entertainment.

The three had applied for provisional disposition of their 13-year contract with SM in late July, saying it contained unfair terms and conditions which were decided upon one-sidedly by their agency.

The Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday ruled that "SM Entertainment cannot sign contracts in opposition of the individual's opinions and will not interfere with their activities as a celebrity."

The court said, however, it will wait to make its decision on approving the termination of their contract till the final verdict is made since "the group may decide to stay together based on individual negotiations and their ongoing activities may be necessary in determining their profit issues."

Legal representatives of the three singers released a statement after the court's decision, saying they would continue in their efforts to invalidate the contract.

"The three members will do their best to pursue their activities in the same manner as before and hope to be able to resolve the issue of unfair profit distribution in the past and of not having received any share of their profits since February this year," law firm SHIN & KIM ended the statement by saying.

SM said it would file an appeal against the court's decision although TVXQ's request has been accepted only partially.

TVXQ, who debuted in 2004 with album "Hug", is one of Korea's most successful K-pop groups. They are stars throughout Asia, reportedly having the largest fanbase in the world, and have enjoyed great success in the Japanese music industry in particular. The band became the first foreign artist to top the Oricon singles charts six times with their 27th single "Share the World/We are!" released this year.

Jessica Kim jesskim@asiae.co.kr