UPDATE (December 21, 2009)

4:25PM KST

When asked via phone regarding this news, SME sounded really surprised ~ as for now, geng is unreachable as his phone is being switched off (Source: Sina)

4:41PM KST

Here’s a legal perspective. The news didn’t say anything on which part of the contract he wanted to terminate. Whole? Some provisions? Even if he wants to terminate a clause or two, it doesn’t always mean he’s getting out. Keep the positive thoughts, ELFs. There’s no proof or official statement of anything yet. Presumption of innocence. When it comes to contract, there is always a dispute settlement clause. It is up to the parties on how to settle their disputes in the future. They can settle them themselves, they can have an arbitration, or they can settle it down in courts. Either way, it’s just a matter of dispute settlement. Going to court is just a way to change a contract. If there indeed exists a problem in the contract, there is still a possibility that they will make a new contract. Therefore, it’s really a premature assumption that if Hangeng files a lawsuit, then it means he wants to get out. VERY premature.

4:55PM KST

This is the legal document SAID to be the actual request of the termination http://i50.tinypic.com/2z512s6.jpg Geng didn’t sign the paper himself but it was his lawyer, Kim Jin Wook. His lawyer HAS the rights to sign the paper on behalf of hankyung.

5:12PM KST

As for the law procedure, what happened today is merely the admission of the lawsuit. The legal document released on the internet is just a common procedure to note down that the lawsuit has been given to court. That legal document is NOT the lawsuit file itself. It’s just a proof that the lawsuit has been given to the court. The court itself still has to PROCESS it and DECIDE whether they’re going to accept the lawsuit or not.

6:52PM KST

At 6PM, SME released a statement, saying that they will be in touch with Hankyung to confirm the news and converse with him to fix things up, “For the sake of Super Junior, we will resolve this through a dialogue.” (Source: STAR News).

7:24PM KST

Kyuhyun just updated his cyworld with a diary entry HERE “Even a beast don’t bite the hand that feeds one… I can not understand…”

8:31PM KST

After an hour or so, Kyu hides his diary entry.. probably due to the amount of attention it gets from the media

11:03PM KST

An interview with Hangeng’s lawyer, Kim Jin Wook.

Super Junior’s Chinese Member Hankyung has filed a litigation at the Seoul District Court on the 21st at 1pm about the effect of his exclusive contract.

Reporters are currently on a phone interview with Hankyung’s (who is in China) lawyer, Kim Jinwook. Lawyer Kim said, indeed he has filed a litigation about terminating the contract with SM, but to whether Hankyung will continue Super Junior’s activities, it has been undecided.

[*] -It has been heard 2 types of litigation were filed today.
“It is confirmed that 2 litigations have been filed against the exclusive contract to not be valid and to terminate the contract. Simply put, the former says to terminate the exclusive contract and the latter is saying that until the exclusive contract is terminated, and until legal effect of the termination has taken place, (he) will be able to act in accordance of temporary activities at (his) own will.”

[*]-When did Hankyung prepare for this litigation?
“This is hard to answer. When the statement is released, it will be answered.”

[*]-The main point of this litigation is similar to Dong Bang Shin Ki 3 member’s exclusive contract?
“Majority speaking, it is almost similar. Hankyung’s contract is valid for 13 years, there are indeed many unfair clauses, so (he) decided to file the litigation.”

[*]-Has he been contacting the 3 members of DBSK?
“I am not very sure. Hankyung will state his own stand as soon as possible.”

[*]-Has the first date of the trial been decided?
“At the moment, not yet. The full situation has been sorted out properly. DBSK’s sequestration contract has been terminated, and the process of applying it to finishing the statement, takes about 2 months. Hankyung does not want to spend such a long time. DBSK’s situation has mediation in between, and has undergone trial a few times, so the time spent has been pretty long, we hope that Hankyung’s litigation will be solved as soon as possible.”

[*]-Did Hankyung think of continuing activities as part of Super Junior or will he leave the group?”
“That I am not too sure. As for Super Junior’s activities, up till now, there has been no decision made.”

[*]-It has been heard that (he) plans to have solo activities in China?
“I have not heard of that.”

Source: here
Translated by ゞilσvεjr⌒★ @ sj-world.net

11:15PM KST (?)

This entry was written on hangeng.net by Hangeng’s friend per Geng’s own request.
The writing in italic is what the guy wrote, the one in bold is Hangeng’s words.
(DongGam is hangeng.net, a Korean website)

[091219] Title: It’s been a long time ㅎㅎ

Since Hankyungie asked me to leave an entry after a long time
I’ve just come to write ㅎㅎ

Have you been doing well?!
Because of the activities in China I’m not even able to write entries
and I always just come to check

This time the schedule is just so busy
that I don’t have a lot of chances to manage to keep in touch
so again I have to greet you
and ask how the members of DonGam family are doing
through a hyung’s help like this

I heard the weather in Korea is very cold lately
Beware of colds and since I’m going to Korea in January
I’ll see you then~ Christmas is in a short while from now
Spend a heartwarming Christmas~
Please be happy~ ^^

-so here I come -

These days I too have been unable to come back here as I’ve been very busy ㅎㅎ
I came to give good news anyway~ since the weather’s cold
beware of catching colds~ ~

However, today Han Geng’s friend came to leave another entry,
and took back a line he wrote and explained it was written by him deliberately.
He apologized because he felt as if he lied, since Han Geng did not say that.

[091221] Title: Hello, I want to say…

Hello

I have something to say so that’s why I’m writing an entry~

First of all I will tell you why I’m writing without having been asked by Hankyung

Since I’ve found out about DongGam thanks to Hankyung

I’ve been coming to bring you news about/from Hankyungie

But this time I wrote as I pleased

Of course the thing about Hankyung’s conditions was the truth

But [the part about him coming to Korea in January] I threw in on my own.

I alone came out with a thought like that.. so it was like a lie

For now I want to apologize for being unable to be too honest

So I’ve come to write this entry in case you’d be disappointed~

Original Source: hangeng.net
Translated by Gaia @ SJ-WORLD.NET

11:30PM KST

Hangeng updated his cyworld (read it here) with the words, “i’m good for now，i know all of you are still here (for me)！i love you guys~~~”

UPDATE (December 22, 2009)

16:02PM KST

Eunhyuk updated his sidebar in cyworld with many full stop periods and ended it with an exclamation mark “!”
Donghae also updated his sidebar in cyworld with one full stop period “.”
Read them here

16:35PM KST

News regarding the reason Hangeng filed a lawsuit against SME.

These are 6 unfair points from Hankyung’s exclusive contract with SM which are stated by Hankyung’s side (not sure whether it’s from his lawyer or his representative)

1. The contract has many provisions which are in SM’s favor.

When the first contract was signed (January 2003) Hankyung was 18 then (underage) and being a Chinese person, he didn’t know everything about Korean showbiz, so SM gave him a contract with the content that SM itself suggested.

Not only that, but also side agreements with SM after then (Febuary 2007 and December 2007) were only from SM, which means that Hankyung didn’t have the chance to suggest provisions in his favor.

2. The period of the exclusive contract is 13 years, it is too long.

The first contract he signed stated that it will be ended 10 years after Super Junior’s 1st album, but the second time it was modified it has been extended to 13 years. Super Junior’s 1st album was released in December 2005, so the contract will be ended in December 2018 and Hankyung will be 35 then.

Moreover, if Hankyung does not take part in some activities because of his health or studies, the contract’s period will be extended according to the situation, so it currently is 13 years on paper, but it could be longer in real life. This clause severely violates Hankyung’s civil rights.

3. There is a clause stating that Hankyung will have to pay SM a large sum of money in case of breaking contract clauses or creating damages, thus this prevents Hankyung to cancel the contract itself, or some agreements on it.

If Hankyung wants to move to another company and continue his activities, he will have to pay SM threefold of the money that SM had invested to him and pay twofold for the loss of the remaining time of his contract.

4. The amount between Hankyung’s rights and responsibilities stated in the contract are not the same.

Hankyung has to follow and attend all the schedule that SM gives him, he has to do/follow all SM’s orders/intructions unconditionally, but he doesn’t have a right to request for his contract to be revised.

5. SM has forced Hankyung to do some activities against his will.

During training time, if Hankyung was late, or absent, or didn’t fulfill his duty, he would be fined 10,000 won (= USD 9 currently) for the 1st time, 20,000 won (= USD 17 currently) for the 2nd time, etc. After debut, if he was late or absent from his schedule, he would have to pay for all the damage; if he cuts the contacts with SM for more than 1 day according to the situation, SM can cancel his contract. And if he doesn’t fulfill his duties, according to the situation he could be fined 5,000,000 won (= USD 4,245 currently).

According to the contract, Hankyung doesn’t have any right to decide for his schedule, he has to follow SM’s words and only attend the events/performances that SM’s manager designed for him. Hankyung even had been forced to attend some activities because of SM’s order when he was ill.

6. The profit distribution and copyrights between SM and Hankyung.

During the contract period, all the copyright of albums and song will belong to SM. Even if Hankyung were to write, compose, and/or arrange the songs, they can be used by SM without his permission.

As for the profit, the album has to sell more than 50,000 copies before Hankyung can receive 2% of the profit.
The digital sales have to be equal with the net profit before Hankyung can get 10% of the profit.
The overseas income has to be equal with the net profit too before Hankyung can get 60% of the profit.

As for overseas activities income, after SM deducts all the promotion activities expenses & fees, the remaining money will be divided among the group members.

Original article is here
Translated by evanesco @ sj-world.net

17:08PM KST

News on Hangeng’s illness.

Hankyung, “No rest in 2 years.. From gastritis to kidney illness”

Hankyung, Super Junior’s only Chinese member in the 13 member group, has filed a lawsuit against the effects of his exclusive contract with the defendant SM Entertainment because of their unfair activity scheduling which has caused him gastritis and kidney illness.

Through Hankyung’s legal representative, the lawsuit to terminate his exclusive contract was filed on the 21st with the Seoul District Court.

According to the litigation, Hankyung has not even been given a single rest day per week after debut. It has been said, “Because of the recent continuous overseas activities etc, it has almost been 2 years since he last rested, he has been rushing schedules (all this while).” “Due to contract obligations and heavy penalties, even during bad health, he was not to skip any scheduled activities.”

Hankyung’s side emphasized, “Because of these kind of health problems, (he) has continuously put forward requests to rest, but has always been rejected.” They added, “Except for when they started their perfomances in 2006, at other times, he had to stay in Korea.” “Through their manager, Hankyung requested from SM for leave to return to China to rest but he was rejected every single time.”

Hankyung’s side added, Hankyung’s exclusive contract terms ▶SM was definitely in a more superior position signing on unfair terms in the contract ▶The contract would span 13 years (starting from the release of their first album) ▶Incorporated excessive damages and in terms of the contract, if he voided it, he would be blocked (from other activities) ▶Allocation of rights and obligations in the contract were significantly off-balanced ▶SM had the right to request Hankyung to be in any activity ▶Profit-splitting rights and provisions were also off-balance, hence the intiation of the lawsuit against SM to terminate his exclusive contract.

On the other hand, after Hankyung intiated litigation, SM stated their stand that “for the sake of Super Junior and Hankyung, they are in talks to resolve the problem”.

Source: 스타뉴스
translated by ゞilσvεjr⌒★ @ sj-world.net

18:42PM KST

An interview with Super Junior M’s manager, Kim Min Wook.

“SJ-M’s Manager: News of Han Geng’s contract termination was released by fans, in the midst of coordinating with the company.”

December 21, reports have emerged that Chinese celebrity Han Geng has officially filed a lawsuit against SM Entertainment with the Seoul District Court, asking for a termination of contract. Once this news was released, the level of this ‘explosion’ is no less than that of Dong Bang Shin Ki’s case previously. Ent.163.com has contacted SJ-M’s manager Kim Min Wook (?) to respond to Han Geng’s opting out. Kim Min Wook said he himself was not sure if Han Geng initiated the termination of contract, and that he saw the news from the internet, “All news were said by fans, the company does not know (anything).”

Kim Min Wook added, he saw that a lot of Super Junior related news surfaced online today, but in regard to whether Han Geng, as per what the rumours have stated, has filed the lawsuit with the Seoul District Court against SM Entertainment’s to be terminated, he isn’t very sure himself, and is currently reaffirming this with the company, Kim Min Wook said, “All the news are what fans said.”

As to whether it is a worry, as being Super Junior’s only foreign Chinese artiste, if Han Geng’s opting out will affect Super Junior’s development in China, Kim Min Wook repeated again, “If there is really something, we will discuss it well with Han Geng and hope that Super Junior’s future development will not be affected.” Once the news of Han Geng terminating the contract spread, Ent.163.com surveyed fans. 80% of the fans think that it is SM’s doing of cooking up publicity for Super Junior’s Asia tour next year. To why they say it’s a form of cooking up publicity, Kim Min Wook declined to respond but only repeated “Thank You” non-stop and hurriedly hung up the phone.

Source: Ent.163.com
Translated by ゞilσvεjr⌒★ @ sj-world.net

19:30PM KST (?)

Leeteuk, Kyuhyun, and Heechul’s cyworlds are not accessible anymore.

UPDATE (December 24, 2009)

12:20PM KST

SM declared that all SJM’s activities would stop temporarily. Henry would be in promotion with Zhang Li Yin.
Read the article here

12:38PM KST

Leeteuk, Kyuhyun, and Heechul’s cyworlds are accessible again.

13:11PM KST

Super Show II in Guangzhou is cancelled. But there are two dates added in March.

UPDATE (December 28, 2009)

13.35PM KST

Hangeng won’t be attending any Gayo Daeuns. Read here.
He also didn’t attend any Super Junior activities prior to his lawsuit.

UPDATE (December 30, 2009)

15.29PM KST

A couple of days after Hangeng filed his lawsuit, there was a rumor that five other Super Junior members also file a lawsuit. SM denied this rumor. Read article here.

UPDATE (December 31, 2009)

14.00PM KST

The trial will be held on Jan 8, 2010. Read here.

UPDATE (January 1st, 2010)

11.00AM KST

The trial will begin on Jan 8, 2010. If Hangeng wins, he’ll be free in March at the earliest. Meanwhile, he temporarily refuses to be active in any SME activites. Read article here.

UPDATE (January 5th, 2010)

15.17PM KST

As a way to support Hangeng, some fans requested refunds for Super Show II tickets in Beijing. The news said, “Many fans indicated that refunding their tickets is the most effective way of showing support for Han Geng: ’support this, Han Geng’s fans refunding their tickets is the best support for Han Geng! We must not let SM take advantage of this opportunity, saying that if Han Geng is not there, the fans will still be as passionate as before.’”. Read the rest here.

UPDATE (January 8th, 2010)

10.00PM KST (?)

The day of Hankyung’s first trial.

UPDATE (January 9th, 2010)

05.28AM KST

The Korean Court has commenced its hearing of Han Geng’s lawsuit and his submission of an “agreement to suspend his contract”, but at present there is temporarily no definite outcome. Up to now, SM Corporation is yet to submit a pleading in response. It appears that it is unknown when there will be an outcome from the contract termination lawsuit between Han Geng and his company, fans will still need to wait calmly.

Source: http://news.gz.soufun.com
Translated by [email protected]

UPDATE (March 10th, 2010)

Both parties have submitted the relevant documents that the court needs.

Source: ihangeng.com
Translated by marchocho @ TwELFs.com

COMPILED IN: TwELFs.com

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