Former K-pop idol Park Yu-chun ordered to pay management company $456k for breach of contract

SEOUL – South Korean singer-actor Park Yu-chun, formerly a member of K-pop boy bands JYJ and TVXQ, has been ordered to pay 500 million won (S$456,000) to his management company for pursuing independent activities in violation of his exclusive contract.

The Seoul High Court on Sept 27 upheld a lower court ruling that Park, 39, and his former agency, Re:Cielo, must jointly compensate Loud Fun Together for damages. The decision reaffirms a December 2023 district court judgment.

Loud Fun Together signed a contract with Re:Cielo in January 2020, securing exclusive management rights over the artiste until 2024.

In May 2021, Park demanded that the deal be terminated over unpaid settlements. When negotiations failed, Park and Re:Cielo warned the company they would void the contract unless outstanding payments were made.

After receiving no response, Park unilaterally notified Loud Fun Together of the contract’s termination and began working through another management firm run by an acquaintance.

In August 2021, the court granted Loud Fun Together’s injunction request to ban Park from entertainment activities. But he continued overseas concerts and advertising deals in defiance of the ruling.

The company later filed a damages suit worth five billion won, accusing Park and Re:Cielo of infringing its rights. The district and appellate courts sided with Loud Fun Together.

Park’s legal team argued the contract with his management company had already been nullified, but the court dismissed the claim.

At the same time, the appellate court partially upheld a countersuit from Re:Cielo, which said Loud Fun Together failed to pay settlement fees related to merchandise sales, fan club memberships and overseas concerts. It ordered the company to pay Re:Cielo 490 million won.

Park has faced a series of controversies since 2019, when he was convicted of methamphetamine use and sentenced to 10 months in prison, suspended for two years. At the time, he pledged to retire from the entertainment industry if found guilty, but later reversed that decision. His subsequent tax delinquency scandals further fuelled public criticism.

Since then, Park has shifted most of his activities outside South Korea, particularly to Japan. In August, he released an EP titled Metro Love and appeared on Japanese music variety shows, signalling his ongoing efforts to rebuild his career outside South Korea. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK