[TRANS] 091201 Action-Restraints-Authority Etc...
The 2009 Fandom Has Changed

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Another happening occurred as three members of TVXQ, YoungWoong Jaejoong, Micky Yoochun and Xiah Junsu, stated that their contract with SM Entertainment was unlawful.
The three members filed for an exclusive contract suspension request, and received a verdict on October 27th that, "SM must not set new activities without the consent of TVXQ. SM cannot interfere with any individual activities the members of TVXQ may want to pursue." However, SM refuted this in a press conference that, "This is a nationwide scam that is packaging human rights and slave contracts as the main problem of this situation."

Many have begun to predict that the two sides will part with the forged signature controversy that erupted with the note of confirmation of the Shenzhen concert in China.
However, the people taking the most active stance in this dispute between the three members and SM Entertainment, is the 800,000 member fanclub 'Cassiopeia'. After this dispute began, they began boycotting SM while stating their reasons and what goods were to be boycotted. The reasons for boycotting span three pages of A4 sized paper and are as follows: the cancellation of 'SM Town Live 09', the unchanged attitude of SM Entertainment regardless of the numerous complaints by fans, and the unlawfulness of the TVXQ contract.

Cassiopeia stated, "SM Entertainment stated that they would continue on with the concert regardless of the legal dispute with the three members of TVXQ over their exclusive contract. However, a week before the concert, SM indefinitely postponed the concert giving a reason that, 'It is impossible for the singers to be united in the concert because of the TVXQ legal dispute.' This is an act that does not even consider the basic consideration that should be given to the consumer who bought tickets." Fans also pointed out, "They used the fact that we were fans to produce quantity more than quality with many goods containing similar contents and they completely ignored the complaints of the fans and the rights we have as consumers."



After that, the fanclub held an offline and online petition that collected around 188,000 signatures from people who were against unlawful contracts, and submitted this to the Seoul District Courts under the name 'People Against SM's Unlawful Contract'. They also visited the Human Rights Commission and submitted a petition urging the commission to work hard to eradicate the contract of clauses that violated human rights. Some state that the three members of TVXQ were able to receive a partial acceptance of their request by the Courts because of the actions of the fans.

These two events cemented the fans' position as 'consumers' with authority. Also, they showed the entertainment agencies that idol group members were not mere 'products' to admire, but were 'people' who could be moved by the power of the fans.
One entertainment representative recognized the consumer power of the fanclubs by stating, "Fans do not have control over the creation of groups, individual activities or the act of a member leaving the group," and "However, entertainment agencies do feel the pressure of the fans' wants. This is because fans are what keep a group and an entertainment agency alive."

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Source: [segye+DNBN]
Translation credits: jeeelim5@tohosomnia.net
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Posted by: FiFFyJunJun