TVXQ representative from the Sejong law firm say that the first hearing on their dispute of contract terms with SM Entertainment (SM) will be held on August 21 2009 (Seoul, South Korea time).
Three of the five members of TVXQ (Jaejoong, Junsu and Yoochun) are fighting for improved contract terms and working conditions. They also want SM to release information about TVXQ’s income.
Late last month, TVXQ’s lawyers filed with the District Court for an “Exclusive Contract Validity Suspension” and a “Provisional Disposition Request”. They also filed an application to make SM preserve evidence and force them to turn over pertinent documentation to the lawyers representing the three members.
According to translated reports, the representative for TVXQ said, “We are preparing for the first hearing that will be soon… TVXQ’s stand and SME’s stand on this situation have not changed at all.”
When news broke of TVXQ’s dispute with SM, stock in the company immediately dropped about 10%, maybe more. The group is partially why the company is as profitable as it is.
Translated reports stated SM ignored attempts by TVXQ to take care of these matters privately and did not release information to them about their income.
In addition, TVXQ have said that despite the dispute with SM they don’t want to disband, and they are not seeking to leave SM for another company as far as we know.
As we have pointed out repeatedly at dongbanger.com, it’s important to note that DBSK aren’t interchangeable ‘pretty faces’. Even though they are tall and gorgeous, it is far from their only attributes.
They are artists who write and read music. They have great a cappella vocal skills. They have studied music, music arrangement, music production, etc.
They all either play an instrument or are in the process of learning to play a 2nd instrument. They all speak fluent Japanese.
They are known as Tohoshinki in Japan and is managed by AVEX. And AVEX certainly isn’t letting the grass grown under TVXQ’s feet while this dispute is ongoing.
Jaejoong and Yoochun have written a song, “Colors”, which has been chosen as Hello Kitty’s 35th anniversary song. Yoochun wrote a song, “Kiss the Baby Sky”, which was chosen for a popular Japanese show’s (“Zoon In”) weather corner.
They were chosen to sing the music for the new Menard’s Cosmetics ad. They were also chosen as the pitchmen for OrnaminC, a popular drink in Japan. They appeared in the tv commercial with Japanese actress Aya Ueto.
Just a couple of days ago, three more of their products in Japan have been certified Gold by the RIAJ. This is after they broke the record for being the first non-Japanese artists ever to have 6 #1 songs on the Oricon Weekly chart.
They recently performed before thousands of people at Tokyo Dome, one of the only Korean artists to ever do so.
Hundreds of thousands of fans buy tickets to watch them perform.
These are highly accomplished young men who cannot be relegated to the ‘eye candy’ category. Because of their hard work and loyalty, they are indispensable.
It’s about time SM comes to this realization.