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Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Details of Hankyung’s case(credit to allkpop)
First, the accusation argues that SME was the
dominant party in signing of the contract and
thus it was written in their favor.
When the contract was first signed in January 2003,
Hankyung was only 17 years old and he did not
have sufficient information on the Korean
entertainment industry. Two updates made to the
contract in February and December of 2007 were
also led by SME and Hankyung had no choice
but to accept what was offered by SME.
Second, the length of the contract is 13 years.
When the contract was first signed, it was to
last for 10 years after the release of Super
Junior's first album. After the two updates,
the length was extended to 13 years. The contract
would last at least until December 2018,
when Hankyung would become 34 years old.
The contract extends automatically when Hankyung
takes break for personal reasons, so the actual
length could be much longer than 13 years.
The accusation calls this a great invasion of
Hankyung's basic human rights.
Third, the contract enforces heavy financial
punishment in case of a breach of contract,
preventing Hankyung from seeking release. If
Hankyung was to breach the contract and move
to another entertainment company, he has to
compensate SME for 3 times what they
invested in him and double what he would have
earned for SME during remaining period of the
contract. The accusation argues that this makes it
impossible for Hankyung to leave SME.
Fourth, the terms on rights and division of
responsibilities are unfair towards Hankyung.
SME is responsible for vague tasks such as
"management of the artist's popularity" and
natural tasks such as "notifying the artist
of new schedules". On the other hand, Hankyung
is to follow SME's decisions without question
and without having any rights for adjustment of
the contract, making the contract unfair for
Hankyung, according to the accusation.
Fifth, the contract made Hankyung overwork.
He was forced to pay $10 during his training
period for his first offense of being late,
being absent, disobedience etc. and $20 per
offense after. When he could not be contacted
for more than a day, SME was given the right
to null their contract. After his debut
as a member of Super Junior, if his disobedience
resulted in damage of less than $5,000
to SME then he was to compensate $5000;
if the damage exceeded that amount then he
was required to compensate for whatever the
damage he caused. He had no right to present
his opinion on any matter, and was forced to
follow SME's instructions at all times.
The accusation says that Hankyung has lost
his confidence due to these reasons.
Due to the fifth reason, Hankyung has not
been able to rest for a sufficient amount
of time since Super Junior's debut. The
accusation argues that he hasn't had a
break for last 2 years due to his busy
schedule. Because the contract enforces
heavy financial punishment and automatic
extension of the contract length, he had
to continue performing in poor health.
According to his representatives he suffers
from gastritis and kidney problems resulting
from high stress, as well as back pain and
exhaustion. He frequently asked for a break
due to medical reasons but they were all
turned down, the accusation claims.
Sixth, he was not given proper rights regarding
profit and products of his performance.
Rights to all songs and albums belong to SME,
even if the song was written by the artist.
Profit division was favored towards SME; in
case of albums, Super Junior received 2% of
the revenue only if the album sold more than
50,000 copies, for digital sales they received
10% of the net profit; for revenue from overseas
they were given 60% of net profit. Album sales
meant nothing to the artists as 2% of the
revenue was divided among 13 members. Digital
sales and foreign income were given to
artists only when profit was made, allowing
SME free from risk of losing money,
according to the accusation.
dominant party in signing of the contract and
thus it was written in their favor.
When the contract was first signed in January 2003,
Hankyung was only 17 years old and he did not
have sufficient information on the Korean
entertainment industry. Two updates made to the
contract in February and December of 2007 were
also led by SME and Hankyung had no choice
but to accept what was offered by SME.
Second, the length of the contract is 13 years.
When the contract was first signed, it was to
last for 10 years after the release of Super
Junior's first album. After the two updates,
the length was extended to 13 years. The contract
would last at least until December 2018,
when Hankyung would become 34 years old.
The contract extends automatically when Hankyung
takes break for personal reasons, so the actual
length could be much longer than 13 years.
The accusation calls this a great invasion of
Hankyung's basic human rights.
Third, the contract enforces heavy financial
punishment in case of a breach of contract,
preventing Hankyung from seeking release. If
Hankyung was to breach the contract and move
to another entertainment company, he has to
compensate SME for 3 times what they
invested in him and double what he would have
earned for SME during remaining period of the
contract. The accusation argues that this makes it
impossible for Hankyung to leave SME.
Fourth, the terms on rights and division of
responsibilities are unfair towards Hankyung.
SME is responsible for vague tasks such as
"management of the artist's popularity" and
natural tasks such as "notifying the artist
of new schedules". On the other hand, Hankyung
is to follow SME's decisions without question
and without having any rights for adjustment of
the contract, making the contract unfair for
Hankyung, according to the accusation.
Fifth, the contract made Hankyung overwork.
He was forced to pay $10 during his training
period for his first offense of being late,
being absent, disobedience etc. and $20 per
offense after. When he could not be contacted
for more than a day, SME was given the right
to null their contract. After his debut
as a member of Super Junior, if his disobedience
resulted in damage of less than $5,000
to SME then he was to compensate $5000;
if the damage exceeded that amount then he
was required to compensate for whatever the
damage he caused. He had no right to present
his opinion on any matter, and was forced to
follow SME's instructions at all times.
The accusation says that Hankyung has lost
his confidence due to these reasons.
Due to the fifth reason, Hankyung has not
been able to rest for a sufficient amount
of time since Super Junior's debut. The
accusation argues that he hasn't had a
break for last 2 years due to his busy
schedule. Because the contract enforces
heavy financial punishment and automatic
extension of the contract length, he had
to continue performing in poor health.
According to his representatives he suffers
from gastritis and kidney problems resulting
from high stress, as well as back pain and
exhaustion. He frequently asked for a break
due to medical reasons but they were all
turned down, the accusation claims.
Sixth, he was not given proper rights regarding
profit and products of his performance.
Rights to all songs and albums belong to SME,
even if the song was written by the artist.
Profit division was favored towards SME; in
case of albums, Super Junior received 2% of
the revenue only if the album sold more than
50,000 copies, for digital sales they received
10% of the net profit; for revenue from overseas
they were given 60% of net profit. Album sales
meant nothing to the artists as 2% of the
revenue was divided among 13 members. Digital
sales and foreign income were given to
artists only when profit was made, allowing
SME free from risk of losing money,
according to the accusation.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
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