No Claim On TVXQ

The Seoul District Court has ruled that SM Entertainment has no claim on the three members of the boy band TVXQ who quit the group and then subsequently broke their contract with the talent agency.

The court decided that the contract, which bound the three young men to the agency for 13 years, was unfair, and that the agency could not hold the trio liable for losses it suffered as a result of their leaving their employ.

The suit has been in litigation since October 2009, when SM sued the three men for breach of contract. In the meantime, the three, who now operate under the moniker JYJ, have been effectively blacklisted from performing in Korea, but have done quite well in Japan.

SM Entertainment, however, says that JYJ still has to go to court over their individual contracts. That decision will supposedly be reached in March.