TVXQ 3 Members: “We Never Signed The Shenzhen Concert Contract” Friday November 20, 2009 Korea

Three members of group TVXQ stated that an unauthorized use of their signatures was used for the documents relevant to the Shenzhen concert. Xiah Junsu, YoungWoong Jaejoong, and Micky Yoochun’s representative stated on the 19th that, “We realized only recently that the signatures of the three members of TVXQ were being used without authorization. The signatures on the Shenzhen concert note of confirmation were not signed by the three members themselves, but somebody else signed the paper instead.”

The three members side found out about the unauthorized use of their signatures on the note of confirmation after their Korean and Chinese fans questioned the validity of the signatures. The note of confirmation in question was the document that recognized the singer’s willingness to attend the concert in China. This document was then shown at the location of ticket sales in order to prove to ticket buyers that the singer would indeed be attending the concert. Sejong Law Firm’s Lawyer Lim Sang Hyuk of the three TVXQ members stated, “Setting aside the validity of the Shenzhen concert contract, this act was an action that brought misunderstanding to the fans. We are planning to take counteractions against this action officially.”

Sejong also released a hand written document of Mr. A who says he signed the note of confirmation instead. He also showed the actual signatures of Xiah Junsu, YoungWoong Jaejoong and Micky Yoochun to show that there were clear differences in the signatures. according to the hand written document, Mr. A “Signed the Shenzhen Concert note of confirmation instead of TVXQ in March.” Mr. A’s claims are to be investigated.

Lawyer Lim stated, “On the 19th, we requested for a judgment by an expert on the signatures on this note of confirmation and the members’ original signatures. Even just by seeing it, you can tell that there is quite a big difference.”

He also said, “When this lawsuit was initiated, the three members promised to perform all preassigned activities. However, the Shenzhen concert was not one of them. The members found out about the Shenzhen concert during the procedures of the lawsuit.” He also said, “Even the fans new that there was a problem with the signatures on the note of confirmation. Therefore, we asked SM to show us the details of the Shenzhen concert contract but SM did not comply.”

One representative of Korean music industry, “In the case that the singer in an agency is busy, there are times when a representative signs the papers instead after telling the singer of the concert or the schedule.” This representative also stated, “When the relationship between the agency and the singer is good, there are no problems . In such a case, I believe that it has become a problem due to the deteriorating relationship between SM and the three members of TVXQ.”

Dong Bang Shin Ki trio accused of fraud in China? Friday November 20, 2009 Korea

It has been known that Dong Bang Shin Ki trio (Micky YooChun, Xiah JunSu and Hero JaeJoong) has been accused of fraud in China.

Dong Bang Shin Ki’s representative came out to say, “This is just a unilateral allegation, there is no problems in terms of legal issues.”

It was known that a cosmetic company has launched a complaint of fraud against the trio at the on 17th and 18th November at the Beijing Arbitration Commission and the Beijing Haidian District People’s Court of Arbitration and Litigation.

The plaintiff ‘Ye Ja Ryeo (睿姿丽)’ have revealed that the trio have promised to attend the various large-scale promotional activities for their joint venturn cosmetic line (Crebeau) when they first joined the joint venture as shareholders and directors, but they did not turn up for any planned events. They have only continuously apologised for their absence.

The company also raised the point that if the trio do not turn up for the events, it has led to many fans’ unhappiness and demand for refund of their goods. The company quoted an amount of 170 million KRW in loss due to that.

But the representative lawyer for the trio Im SangHyuk have said, “I also heard about this only from the reporters. But since the situation now is that even the investors saying to abandon the case, there is not problems in terms of legal issues, just a unilateral allegation from the plaintiff.”

Mnet Invited TVXQ For Their Year-end Awards Wednesday November 17, 2009 Korea

On the 16th, it was revealed by Mnet’s office that they have invited TVXQ, whose members are in the midst of a legal dispute with their management company, to attend their year-end awards “Mnet Asian Music Award” (hereafter known as MAMA). This year’s MAMA will be held on the 21st November, Seoul, Jamsil Gymnasium.

Their office said, “MAMA’s aim is to show the rest of Asia Korea’s culture” and “the award ceremeony will be aired across the 10 main countries in Asia, like Japan, China, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, where TVXQ is the best artist. Thus, Korea’s top artist cannot be excluded from the invitation.”

On MAMA’s end, they have expressed interest in inviting TVXQ to attend their awards. On the 16th, they said that they would get in touch with TVXQ’s management to see whether it would be possible for them to attend or not. However, TVXQ’s company, SM Entertainment has declared that they would not be attending MAMA, so a lot of attention has been cast on TVXQ to see whether or not they will attend.

An official from the KPOP industry said, “Last month, the courts approved a partial injunction to the 3 members’ exclusive contract with the company, and the 3 members are allowed to participate in their own individual activities” and “while we hope that all 5 members can attend together, the possibility of only the 3 members attending is high”.

MAMA is holding their award ceremony on the 21st, which was originally the date of TVXQ’s concert in China. However, SM Entertainment claimed that, “The 3 members expressed that they did not wish to participate in the concert that was to be held on the 21st, and the remaining performances are uncertain.” In contrast, the 3 members’ side claimed that “From the beginning, the China concert (Shenzhen) was not in the contract.”

A representative from a company for idol groups said, “SM Entertainment and the 3 members have differing opinions, and the dispute is becoming more serious. Disbandment might be inevitable.”

Tensions heighten between TVXQ and agency Tuesday November 17, 2009 Korea

The rift between three members of boy band TVXQ and their agency SM Entertainment grew deeper last week as the singers failed to notify SM on whether they are willing to resume their activities in Korea next year as a five-member group.

The agency, in a legal dispute with Hero Jaejoong, Micky Yoochun and Xiah Junsu who asked a court in late July to nullify their exclusive contract with SM, had announced during a press conference in early November that it would give the three singers 10 days to make the decision but the three did not hand a response to SM by the deadline last Thursday.

"TVXQ will not be able to make a comeback to the local music scene early next year since in actuality, they refused to be members of the group," SM said in a statement, adding they are "sorry to see such an outcome despite our will to see the band continue its activities."

SM added that the three members however, told the company that they would not take part in a concert set to take place in Shenzhen of China on November 21, leaving the future of other pre-scheduled shows uncertain.

The concert was one of the total 12 shows TVXQ was set to perform at as part of their third Asia tour which had been agreed upon in the middle of last year, and the three singers had agreed to participate and perform at all shows already set, despite the ongoing legal battle, SM explained.

A legal representative for the Hero, Micky and Xiah refuted SM's argument, saying SM notified the group of the concert after the three singers had applied for provisional disposition of their 13-year contract with SM and failed to disclose a contract detailing the terms regarding the show.

"Even their fans know the concert in Shenzhen had not originally been on their agenda...... The three asked SM to provide them with the contract but they never got to see it so they decided not to perform," Lim Sang-hyuk, attorney at law firm KIM & SHIN said.

He also added that the three members are still willing to talk with the agency as soon as issues over their unfair contract and shares of profit are resolved.

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.

Avex Reports, "No change in Japan with TVXQ's activities"; Difficult to return to Korean stage next year Saturday November 15, 2009 Korea

In Korea, the media reports their views that it will be difficult for the five members of TVXQ to perform together. They also reported that their future activities in Korea during the early part of 2010 are unclear.
Meanwhile, TVXQ's concert in China, which was supposed to take place on the 21st of November 2009, has been cancelled.

However, in Japan, it has been decided and reported that:
"TVXQ will release their new song, "BREAK OUT!" in the new year 2010."

And also:
"TVXQ's fan meeting performances have been confirmed." (In January 2010.)

To TVXQ: Andy's Meaningful Advice Friday November 13, 2009 Korea

“It will be hard, like having to debut all over again.”

Andy, member of idol group Shinhwa with the longest career, who is in the middle of his solo activities, revealed his “personal opinion” about TVXQ’s situation which is a hot issue in the K-pop world.

Andy who debuted in 1999 under the same company as TVXQ, SM Entertainment, as Shinhwa, has gained lots of popularity. But as soon as the exclusive contract was over, he and the rest of the members had to move to another entertainment company and continuously did activities with passion.

Recently,in the interview with Sports Dong-A, Andy cautiously stated “I sincerely would like TVXQ and their fans who have been with them since the beginning to get back together and continue their activities." and “They should know that if they find another way, they have to start all over again.”

The days after leaving Shinhwa's debut company, Andy says, “It was a great difficulty,” and stressed “They should know that when they leave their debut company, it takes more effort and it is two - three times harder than when they first debuted.”

While Shinhwa’s group activity is on hold due to its members on army service, Andy has continued with his solo activities and scouted new singers, and has turned into a CD producer. In his own company, he has assembled a casting team, and together with (the casting team) has been searching for new entertainers/trainees.

Because of this, Andy is looking at the music industry as a producer. With his experience, he added, "Idol groups that gained popularity quickly think that their efforts are what's important, but still thinking that it is dangerous,"and "You must acknowledge the fact that the company has capabilities and talent."

Deadline of 12th Nov up! No response from DBSK's 3 members; SHENZHEN CONCERT CANCELED. Friday November 13, 2009 Korea/China

Dong Bang Shin Ki trio Hero JaeJoong, Micky YooChun and Xiah JunSu did not respond to the deadline which SM Entertainment gave them on 2nd November.

SM Entertainment revealed on 12th November, “Until 6pm, they did not give us an answer.”

And about what will happen after this since the 3 have not given an answer, the SM representative said that they are not in the position to say anything yet. But they will be coming up with an official stand again.

During a press conference held on 2nd November, SM Entertainment gave the trio a deadline till 12th November to respond if they have plans for album release as part of Dong Bang Shin Ki early next year.

But the 3 have not given an answer by the deadline. And when asked if it will lead to disbanding of the group, the representative said, “It has not been mentioned to us yet the steps which will follow from here.”

It seems that this fight between the trio and the company will last longer than we have expected it to be.

Jaejoong & Yunho At First Official Press Conferences Wednesday November 11, 2009 Korea

TVXQ's U-Know Yunho and YoungWoong Jaejoong have been garnering attention for showing their support for each other at their individual press conferences after the dispute began.

The two people's friendship seemed not to have been disturbed in any way by the legal dispute with agency SM Entertainment. In fact, they both seemed to be trying hard not to accidentally bring harm to the other.

YoungWoong Jaejoong attended the press conference of 'Postman of Heaven' at 4:30 pm at the CGV at Wangship-li in Seoul on the 9th and said, "It was hard for me to decide to show my face at this press conference which is my first official outing since the trial," and "But I wanted to attend the press conference because this production was something I worked hard on a year ago."

He also said, "When I was filming the movie, it was a busy time as activities for the fourth album were going on at the same time. So the members couldn't give me a lot of advice but U-Know Yunho and Choikang Changmin supported me by telling me to work hard," and "I did not give U-Know Yunho advice when he began filming for his drama. I didn't worry about him because he's a friend who works as hard as he can in everything he does," and showed his deep trust and faith in U-Know Yunho.

He also showed his affection by saying, "U-Know Yunho is a friend who hardly ever says 'I'm tired', or 'I'm sick'."

At the press conference for MBC's drama 'Heading to the Ground', U-Know Yunho supported the three members who had a different stance than him by saying "I hope that the TVXQ dispute is ended in a good, reasonable way. There are a lot of bad rumors floating around but please don't believe them."

When more TVXQ-related questions were asked, he carefully said, "I don't know why everyone is thinking of it so negatively. There are a lot of bad rumors going around. I worry that these rumors are only worsening the situation. I hope that nobody believes in these rumors and from my point of view, I hope that everything ends in a good and reasonable manner."

On the other hand, SM Entertainment gave the ultimatum to the three members and said, "TVXQ will make a comeback next spring. Answer our question of your return by the 12th." An answer regarding this was not available from YoungWoong Jaejoong on the day of the press conference.

Jaejoong at Heaven’s Postman press conference

As previously mentioned, on November 9th TVXQ / DBSK / Tohoshinki's Jaejoong along with co-star Han Hyo-joo appeared at a special preview screening of Heaven’s Postman (Postman to Heaven) at the CGV Theater in Seoul. After the screening, Jaejoong had a brief press conference with the reporters.

During the press conference he stated that he was very nervous and he cringed when he first saw himself on the big screen. He also stated that acting is a bold new challenge and everything was so new and foreign to him, but the producer of the film along with Han Hyo-joo really helped him throughout the process.

Tohoshinki Fans Flock to Theaters to Hear New Song Tuesday November 10, 2009 Japan

A new song from Tohoshinki has been garnering attention, and the record label and various music download websites have been swamped with requests for information. The song is titled '時ヲ止メテ / Toki o Tomete [lit. 'Stop (Freeze) Time']' and from August has been used in TV commercials for cosmetics brand Menard. It is a ballad that effectively shows off the five members' skills as vocalists. Fans have been able to listen to parts of the song's chorus by watching the TV commercials, but besides that there have been no announcements for it to become available in CD or be distributed online as a truetone. So fans only knew about ten seconds or so of the song.

But now word has gotten around that during the end credits of the film 'TOHOSHINKI THE LIVE 2009', a short 3 minute and 40 second version of the song could be heard. The film is currently being shown in 19 theaters nationwide. Since no official announcements had been made about '時ヲ止メテ / Toki o Tomete' being featured in the end credits, for fans who went to see the film it was a pleasant surprise. Now that it has become famous, in theaters all around Japan one can find Tohoshinki fans in their seats intently listening to the song.
By hearing a longer version instead of the few dozen seconds of the song that had been used in the commercials, fans have recognized just how superb the ballad really is. That has fueled calls for the song to be released in CD. In response to the popular demand, there are talks underway for a downloadable version to become available prior to its release. But until then the great ballad will still remain difficult for fans to fully enjoy.