"Termination of Exclusive Contracts Depends on Court Rulings" – Five Music Organizations Call for Tempering Regulations

The Korean Management Federation, the Korean Entertainment Producers Association, the Korean Music Label Industry Association, the Korean Record Industry Association, and the Korean Music Content Association, five major organizations in the K-POP industry, held a joint press conference in Seoul on the 27th to emphasize the importance of exclusive contracts and the necessity of tempering regulations. This conference was held in response to NewJeans members leaving their agency ADOR and changing the group’s name to NJZ. The five organizations clearly stated, “To ensure the sustainable development of K-pop, we must all honor our commitments. No one can finalize the termination of an exclusive contract before a court makes a ruling.” Choi Kwang-ho, secretary-general of the Korean Music Content Association, expressed concern, saying, “Tempering is not merely a problem faced by a few large agencies; it is a crisis affecting the entire industry, including the indie music sector. If this issue continues to surface, one-sided regulatory laws may be created.” Agencies highlighted the enormous costs involved in producing idols. Choi Jae-woo, CEO of F&F Entertainment, explained, “The production cost before an idol’s Debut ranges from at least 1 billion won to over 10 billion won.” These costs include audition casting, training in vocals, dancing, English, provision of accommodation and meals, appearance management, and pre-marketing efforts. Kim Myung-soo, head of the Korean Entertainment Producers Association, proposed improvements to the system, suggesting “strengthening the requirements for entertainment businesses that attempt tempering” and “introducing separate qualification exams for the popular culture and arts planning industry, which currently allows registration with only 40 hours of online training.” The five organizations defined exclusive contracts as a “partnership where agencies and artists grow together and share both successes and failures,” warning that if this foundation weakens, the entire K-POP industry could be destabilized. However, in response to a statement from NewJeans’ Fandom prior to the press conference claiming that the associations only represented HYBE’s position, Secretary-General Choi clarified, “The NewJeans issue is a matter between two parties, while what we are addressing is the tempering problem affecting the entire industry.”