KBS made assurances to JYJ that they would not cancel the scheduled New 7 Wonders concert appearance on July 20th. That’s what Prain Director Lee Jae Eun revealed in an interview with Radio 21 about the whole KBS/Jeju/N7W controversy that’s still churning among JYJ fans from around the world.
Prain is the company which handles JYJ’s communication with the media.
Because JYJ has had to deal with so many cancellations due to powerful external pressures, they didn’t accept the job unless KBS made assurances that the broadcast company wouldn’t up and cancel.
According to Director Lee’s translated interview:
“When we received an offer to appear [on the program], I specifically told KBS Jeju that `because there are times when [the network] is pressured externally [to cancel on the artist], in order to protect the artist, I will not make a decision unless [JYJ’s] appearance on the program is a sure thing.` “
Director Lee revealed that KBS told them they (KBS) would not cancel and that the broadcast was `…a special program to promote Jeju, and since JYJ is its honorary ambassador, why would we have problems?`
Regardless of the assurances, KBS sent JYJ a one-sided cancellation notice just 4 days before the show “after we had already received cue sheets,” she said.
The Unexplained
Director Lee spoke about these “unexplainable incidents” that have occurred repeatedly and made reference to JYJ’s former management company SM (SM Entertainmentment).
Most people are aware JYJ would be scheduled for an activity, and suddenly the broadcast company who initiated the work would suddenly back out at the last minute for some unsatisfactory or inexplicable reason. One or two incidents and it would be no problem, but this has happened more than a few times.
She said:
Although the courts have made the decision that we should receive compensation when the ex-management company unfairly interferes with [JYJ’s activities], unexplainable incidents continue to occur over and over again.
JYJ’s representatives have already reported KBS’s actions to the Korean Fair Trade Commission (FTC) and received an official document registering the report.
She was told by the investigator in charge of handling their complaint that they submitted “more than enough proof” on this latest affront.
Not only that, apparently CJeS has been documenting everything and submitting the information to independent 3rd parties, like the FTC, to get it on record as evidence for the main lawsuit against SM.
She said:
“Every time such unjust situations occur, no matter how small or how big, C-JeS entertainment has filed complaints and lawsuits. All will become evidence in the original lawsuit. On this matter, we have taken all action that we could, and from now on we will concentrate our efforts in quickening the ruling in the original lawsuit.”
That may mean every cancellation, every affront, every `misfire`, and every mysterious occurrence has been documented for presentation to the Court as further evidence of SM’s underhandedness.
The Court has already ruled in JYJ’s favor on a number of issues surrounding their main lawsuit against SM. One such ruling is that SM will have to compensate JYJ for EACH time they interfere with the group not being able to carry out their entertainment activities.
Things like intimidating producers to keep JYJ off the air would certainly fall under that category, as well as promising to provide 2 of your SM artists in exchange for canceling JYJ’s appearance. Hint. Hint.
Let no grass grow under your feet
Director Lee didn’t only talk about the KBS controversy, she also expressed the thoughts of the members towards their fans. They must feel terrible that their fans have to watch them go through a cruel upset, one after another.
She said the members are “more brave than anyone else”:
“The members are more brave than anyone else. They are making good progress in their planned path. However, they are very worried about their fans, who are forced to go through such injustices because they are JYJ fans. They are trying to stay resolute for their fans.”
The feelings JYJ have for their fans are special. Furthermore, they have great pride for their fans. When I see them use the phrase, `well, our fans are…` after each sentence, I get the thought that they’ve become firmer and closer together by experiencing difficult situations.
I am so thankful that there are fans who love JYJ’s music and their dream, and I hope you don’t become too upset because of this recent matter.“
She also revealed plans for another future tour and said that JYJ have been getting numerous requests in their home country of Korea, as well as from other places in North America and Europe. She said, “because [JYJ] is such a worldwide group, the scale is enormous.”
Could this include a new album? Yes, according to the report. They are looking towards “the entire second half of the year to plan [their new schedules],” she said.
I see you
This most recent effrontery on KBS’s part is so public and involves so many people not directly related to just the entertainment portion of Korean society, that it has focused major attention on JYJ’s plight.
Director Lee said:
“…the general public including the people on Jeju Island gave us their support. In fact, there’s a side of thankfulness because this incident helped spread the news that JYJ is fighting against injustice. “
An issue that wasn’t supposed to involve anything other than JYJ carrying out their duties as honorary ambassadors was tampered with. Its big because it involves an entire nation’s goal of getting one of their places designated as one of the new 7 wonder of the world.
In the aftermath of KBS’s unilateral decision to cut JYJ and replace them with 2 artists from SM, people from all over the world have come down on them.
Some fans in other countries have openly stated they now look down on the way things are run in Korea.
KBS didn’t just make themselves look bad. Indeed, they probably could take continued hits to their reputation if they just didn’t care about such things. However, this has caused embarrassment for an entire industry… maybe an entire nation to those outside of South Korea.
Are the consequences just beginning to surface? We will see.
@dongbanger
Source mat.:
http://newsface.kr/news/news_view.htm?news_idx=2548
translation credits: withjyj