[NEWS] 111222 Palm TV broadcasts coverage of FTC’s investigations into SM and JYJ

December 22, 2011 · by JYJ3 Team

As previously announced, Palm TV‘s ‘Palm News‘ aired their much-anticipated episode with claims of proof on SM Entertainment‘s obstruction of JYJ‘s activities.

On December 22nd, the broadcast stated, “SM Entertainment worked with the Korean Federation of Pop Culture and Art Industry (KFPCAI) and the Korean Entertainment Producer’s Association(KEPA) to keep JYJ from appearing on TV programs.”

Reporter Lee Sang Ho stated, “SM Entertainment is expecting a fine of around $500,000 USD to $800,000 USD within the year, which is the amount that JYJ lost by the obstruction. There is a lot of tension building around SM and the Fair Trade Commission, as the company has been trying to cut back on the costs of the fine as much as possible. The FTC’s chief, Lee Tae Hwi, has expressed that he hopes this case will be an opportunity for the entertainment industry to establish justice and order. There may be additional investigations ordered.”

The reporter then submitted documents to show that SM had worked with the KFPCAI and the KEPA to keep JYJ out of broadcast appearances. However, these documents of the KFPCAI attempting to restrict JYJ’s TV activities were already put in public light last October.

At the time, the KFPCAI and the KEPA had stated, “Due to the fact that the lawsuit surrounding the three members and SM Entertainment has yet to be resolved by the law, and since they [JYJ] have formed their own group for the release of albums and promotions, we have decided that no matter what the final judgment is, this will set an unfair precedent in the industry. As such, we have sent out letters to halt broadcast stations from allowing JYJ on their shows.”

The FTC, on the other hand, denies the claims. Speaking through OSEN, Lee Tae Hwi expressed, “We are in the process of an investigation because there has been a report of such activity, but whether or not we will take this to the committee has yet to be decided. We cannot reveal the inner details of the investigations yet, but we will take it to the committee once we judge that there were indeed illegal activities.”

Jung Hae Im, the figure that led the FTC to investigate the matter, was asked what motivated her to report it, to which she replied, “Despite the fact that JYJ had released a drama OST, digital distributors did not provide their songs and consumers had no choice but to buy the physical CD. The point of digital distribution websites are to allow consumers to purchase songs of their choice for a fee. I, however, was not able to purchase what I wanted to listen to because this method was blocked.”