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.

TVXQ is one step closer to breaking up? 09 Nov 2009

The three members of TVXQ who have taken legal action against SM Entertainment are planning to work by themselves, according to their legal counsel.

When Sports Seoul asked the three members' legal counsel about SME demanding the three members to make a decision by the 12th, they were told:

"The three members are taking a break at the moment and are planning new projects. We do not plan on responding to SME's press conference. SME was ordered by the court to submit relevant evidences and they have been ignoring this order for almost 3 months now and they also have not been following any other court orders. Conversations with SME will start when they start respecting the court's decision. The court said that the three members may work on their own, so we do not need SME's permission on that. We are also seriously considering making criminal accusations against SME."

The three members are now planning their own projects separate from that of the five-member TVXQ and in no way related to SME. They also do not intend on responding to SME's demand for an answer by the 12th.

Who spent the night with TVXQ’s Jaejoong?

Apparently Taegoon spent a night down in Pusan with TVXQ's Jaejoong. The two have been friends since they were students as they are of the same age and come from the same town.

Jaejoong and Taegoon were spotted eating sashimi and hanging out from the 7th until the 8th in Pusan, a major city and also the largest port of the country located on the southern coast of Korea.

Taegoon has been busy promoting his music and Jaejoong has a movie that is about to open (Heaven's Postman), so we could say that they deserve a little break. Especially Jaejoong, with all the drama surrounding the members of TVXQ.

Unfair Contract Dispute, SM has Changed its Stand? Sunday November 8, 2009 Korea

SM Entertainment CEO’s Kim Young Min, who is involved in the ‘unfair contract’ dispute with his artistes, has recently announced a new contract policy, and that it will be put into action once it gets approved by the related authorities.

SM Entertainment Representative, Kim Young Min, who attended the press conference which was held on the 2nd of November 2009 at 63 Tower, has expressed, “We would collect all comments from music and entertainment industries, related government departments, cultural and tourism board, fair trade departments, educational circles and legislative bodies, based on the law to adjudicate a new contract policy. After the approval from the respective authorities, we would then put it into action. Then follow it (new contract policy) enthusiastically.”

Kim agreed, “If we are able to come out with a new exclusive contract policy based on the law, SM would like to re-contract with all current artistes based on it.”

Kim also expressed, “Under the new exclusive contract, the moment it’s signed it would be protected till the contract ended, if not the current situation would repeat over and over again in the future.”

“In order to prove that what have just I said is nothing but the truth, we would first like to take the advice from the impartial committee,” he said.

But, everyone was not able to fully believe this announcement by SM Entertainment. Professor Lee from Korea Art University stated, “If SM do not wish to have what they have just said to turned into nothing, then they should assure them.” He continued, “Based on what SM have said, they do not wish to fully take on the advice from the impartial committee, but to forcefully come out with a new contract policy, which was questionable (their announcement).” Professor Lee ended, “If SM was really sincere about this, they should work on the new contract based on the advice and not vice versa, and then to get it approved by the representative authorities.”

Law suit may lead to TVXQ split ; TVXQ: slave contract or ingratitude? Wednesday November 04, 2009 Korea

The possibility of Korea's top idol group TVXQ disbanding is increasing, after their agency sent an apparent ultimatum to three of the five-member boy band to return to the agency.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, SM Entertainment chief Kim Young-min accused the three members -- Xiah, Hero, and Micky -- of having sued against the company out of greed to make more money.

Kim was speaking about the ongoing legal battle between the three members and the company. The three band members claim the contract signed between TVXQ and the management agency is unfair.

Last month, a lower court sided with the three and ruled that parts of the contract should be invalidated, paving the way for them to resume individual music and advertisement careers.

The agency vowed to bring the case to a higher court, saying the three must follow the contract as long as they continue to be part of TVXQ, and should get paid according to the current contract.

The other two members -- U-know and Max -- rendered their support for the management agency's claim, expressing hope that the other three would return quickly.

In their statement, the two stressed that all members have worked under the same contract with SM Entertainment for the past five years.

"We believe that TVXQ would not have been in existence without SM Entertainment, which created the group. We are also not willing to resume our career as TVXQ without our current agency," the statement said.

In a related movement, SM Entertainment chief Kim made it clear that although the court granted freedom to the three members to pursue individual activities, they are allowed to work as TVXQ only under SM.

The company demanded that the three members reply to its request to return to the agency by Nov. 12.

But it is widely viewed that the three are unlikely to continue to work with the management agency due to deep distrust between the two sides.

CreaBeau speaks out on TVXQ Issue Tuesday November 3, 2009 Korea

When the TVXQ / DBSK / Tohoshinki controversy first began, the three members and their lawyers clearly stated that the three members’ investments in the CreBeau cosmetics line did not have any relevance to the court case. The core of the controversy was the legal issues of the slave contract. In SM Entertainment's opening statement, they stated that the lawsuit was because of the cosmetics issue.

To clear up the confusion, Kang Suk Won, the President of the Korean branch of CreBeau (Wishop Plus) was interviewed. Kang has already sued SME’s CEO Kim Young Min for slander to the Seoul Central Court on October 4th, 2009.

Kang said, “Although this case is obviously to fight the unfair profit splits and the conflict between the members and SME, SME is trying to push the blame onto CreBeau.”

Kang went on to reveal that the three members have only invested approximately 70,000 dollars, 60,000 dollars, and 40,000 dollars respectively. This amount, he said, was not enough to earn the three members rights to ownership of the business, let alone a big part of the profit.

Kang said, “In May 2009, some SME representatives visited the original branch of CreBeau Cosmetics in China twice. They determined that the members were not going against contract terms in any way, and now SME is distorting the true reason behind the case and putting out ridiculous claims... SME said that the whole lawsuit was due to the members’ wanting to continue a business that went against contract terms. This has no credibility in that SME has already approved of the investments previously. The members wouldn’t risk all the things that they gained as TVXQ by creating a conflict with their company over insignificant investments. It was a private investment, and the three have no ownership over the business in any way. They’re merely investors, nothing less, nothing more. What does this have to do with the lawsuit, and why is SME attempting to connect the two together?”

Kang went on to say that SME’s actions have brought about significant harm to the business not only in Korea, but all over Asia, including China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, and even the United States. For the employees and CEOs all over the world, CreBeau is their sole income. SME should have considered the impact its blames would bring to the business and the people involved in it.

“If SME’s company and its profits are so important that they are willing to harm others for it, then SME should recognize that it is the same for others.” Kang went on to say that “If SME does not stop distorting the truth and doesn’t apologize for the harms it brought upon CreBeau, I will not hesitate to reveal the details of SME’s absurd act to the public and to the court.”

TVXQ Fanclub Says, "Stop actions trying to divide TVXQ!" Tuesday November 3, 2009 Korea

TVXQ's fanclub Cassiopeia has expressed their official stand on SM Entertainment's press conference.

On the 2nd of November, they have stated their official standpoint through a fansite.

Cassiopeia expressed, "Everything, excluding the words directly from TVXQ, we do not believe, and we would like SM to stop trying to divide the fans by causing confusion/chaos." and "We are very disappointed, and saddened with SM by saying those statements were by Yunho and Changmin, and also with the press conference. The reason for this lawsuit is because of the 13-year slave contract, not because of the cosmetic business. With the court’s decision released on the 27th, SM is to not interfere with the three members’ own/individual activities, and would immediately like for SM to stop with their actions on trying to divide the TVXQ members."

At the same time, with the release of Yunho’s and Changmin’s statements, suspicions were roused among the fans. Many questions were raised, like the position of the signature and name, and the doubt that it may not be handwritten. Conflict between SM and the fans will seem to continue from this point on.