In this case, members of an idol group affiliated with an entertainment agency (“Agency A”) in Korea unilaterally alleged the termination of their exclusive agreement. In response, Agency A petitioned for a preliminary injunction seeking to (i) confirm its status as the exclusive management agency of the K-pop idol group, and (ii) prohibit the members from engaging in independent commercial activities in violation of the exclusive agreement. Kim & Chang represented Agency A and obtained a favorable court ruling on all claims.
This case involved a complex set of issues spanning over several years, starting from the members signing their trainee contracts with another label and then signing exclusive agreements with Agency A in 2022, after the agency was newly established. In 2022, the members debuted and immediately obtained commercial success. However, in April 2024, a dispute arose between the CEO of Agency A and its parent company that ultimately led to the members’ unilateral notice to terminate their agreements in November 2024.
Based on a thorough analysis of all relevant materials, our firm advocated on behalf of Agency A, explaining that it had faithfully performed its obligations under the exclusive agreements and that the grounds for termination asserted by the members were insufficient to terminate those agreements. We also appealed to the court that allowing artists to easily and unilaterally terminate exclusive agreements without adhering to the exclusivity period would negatively affect the K-pop industry as a whole.
The court found our arguments compelling and granted Agency A’s petition for preliminary injunction on March 21, 2025.
With the rapid growth of the Korean entertainment industry, investments are also increasing, highlighting the importance of adhering to the exclusivity periods under exclusive agreements. The complexity of disputes has also increased alongside the pace of industry development, with the outcomes often proving highly consequential for parties involved. As a result, new legal principles are being established and refined in the Korean entertainment industry. Against this backdrop, the present case involved the latest legal principles and issues during a period of rapid industry growth that resulted in a very important court ruling.
Notably, (i) the court found that none of the grounds for termination asserted by the idol group members were valid, and (ii) the agency was able to quickly obtain a court ruling on preserving its agency status and maintaining the validity of the exclusive agreements through a preliminary injunction proceeding before the main trial.
