TVXQ, Agency Fail to Reach Settlement

Micky, Xiah and Hero of TVXQ/DBSK and SM Entertainment have failed to reach a court-mediated settlement of a legal battle over what the group called ``unfair'' terms of their contract.

A Seoul district court said Wednesday it called in three members of the boy band at the end of September to mediate a settlement with their agency, SM Entertainment, but the mediation collapsed.

Court officials said the members refused to accept the mediation, leaving the court to make a ruling on the injunction in the near future.

The controversy over the five-member group's working contract touched off in late July after three of its members ― Micky, Xiah and Hero ― filed an injunction with the Seoul Administrative Court to nullify the validity of their contract with the agency.

According to the legal document filed, the agency prohibited their freedom as artists by claiming that the activities of the group and its members belonged to the agency, requiring them to follow its demands to appear at certain performances and broadcasts, and to stay under its wing for 13 years.

Courtesy of Cho Jae-hyon of Korea Times