[NEWS] 100706 SM Vows to Create Better Working Environment for Artists

[NEWS] 100706 SM
Vows to Create Better Working Environment for Artists



From left,
Girls' Generation member Yuri, National Assembly member Cho Moon-hwan,
Girls' Generation member Sooyoung and SM Entertainment President Kim
Young-min pose during a proclamation ceremony vowing to protect artists'
rights held at Cho's office at the parliament building in Seoul, South
Korea on July 6, 2010. [Han Youn-jong/Asia Economic Daily]

Major
South Korean talenthouse SM Entertainment (SM), pop group Girls'
Generation and National Assemblyman Cho Moon-hwan have taken action to
establish a better working environment for artists in the Korean
entertainment industry.

The agency on Tuesday held a proclamation
ceremony at Cho's office, where they announced that SM and Cho's team
will join forces to protect the rights of artists and set up a mutually
beneficial contract system across the industry.

The ceremony was
attended by SM president Kim Young-min as well as Girls' Generation, the
biggest name represented by the agency. Solo male singer Kang-ta
participated in a press conference after the ceremony.

Cho, who
sits on the National Policy Committee, has been looking into the
conventional contract system between talent agencies and their artists
since the annual government audit session held last October.

He
had asked the Fair Trade Commission to carry out a thorough
investigation into major entertainment agencies as well as smaller
agencies, making sure the management contracts do not include any
inappropriate content such as invasion of the artists' privacy.

Cho
had continuously placed requests for an environment where a healthy
contractual relationship could be formed between the artist and the
agency.

During the months leading up to the proclamation
ceremony, SM and Cho had discussed on several occasions how they can
protect the rights of entertainers and create solutions that will
benefit the industry on the whole.

SM, on its part, explained
that it had drawn up contracts which reflected the reality of the
entertainment business as well as the legal rights of entertainers, and
had them signed with working artists and trainees at the agency.

The
two parties have agreed to continue their discussions and cooperation
in the matter.

"After putting in a lot of attention and hard
work, the contract system in the entertainment industry is slowly seeing
changes and moving towards a better environment," Cho was quoted as
saying. "I hope that this proclamation ceremony will be an opportunity
for more entertainers to recover their rights and create an environment
where agencies and artists can trust each other."

"By
establishing mutually beneficial contracts between artists and the
agency, we will work harder in not only promoting the industry by
expanding [the influence of] Hallyu (Korean Wave) but also creating
added value for the country," said Kim Young-min, president of SM.

Founded
in 1995 by former singer Lee Soo-man, SM quickly became one of the most
influential talent agencies in Korea. Lee, who stepped down from SM's
board of directors in February, has created and masterminded the
successful careers of numerous K-pop artists including BoA, Fly To The
Sky, H.O.T., SHINee, Super Junior and TVXQ.

SM also manages many
songwriters, music producers, comedians and actors including Ara, Choi
Jung-yoon and Lee Yeon-hee.

Reporter : Lynn Kim lynn2878@
Editor
: Jessica Kim jesskim@
<ⓒ10Asia All rights reserved>


Source: Asia Economic News
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