Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Courts had previously granted Kang Daniel an injunction in his contract termination dispute with LM Entertainment, meaning he could go on to operate without restrictions as things were resolved, and as a result he started KONNECT Entertainment for his activities.
During the appeal for this injunction, LME basically started groveling.
LM Entertainment’s legal representative stated, “Though there was language in the contract that may make the joint enterprise contract appear to be a transfer of rights, the overall content of the contract was closer to an investment.” They continued to say, “Kang Daniel’s side is claiming to the courts and the press that LM Entertainment has sold our artist’s rights to a large agency. If his request is accepted, it will be impossible for us to recover the lost trust that we have built up over many years in the entertainment industry.”
Whose fault is that? What the hell?
They stated, “Though it may be true that there are clauses in Section 3 that appear as though they transfer rights [of Kang Daniel to MMO Entertainment], Clause 5 of Section 3 states that MMO Entertainment is required to discuss with LM Entertainment before any actions pertaining to the exercising rights,” and “Before any such acts, MMO Entertainment was required to receive our approval in advance, so the actual rights still remained with us, and therefore cannot be seen as a transferral of his rights.”
Most important is the part where if they get the appeal accepted, they just want to suckle at the teet of KONNECT Entertainment in the end.
LM Entertainment’s representative stated, “Even if we do win this appeal, the agency has already suffered severe damages monetarily and in the trust people put in the agency,” and “Kang Daniel has already begun pursuing activities independently. Therefore, if our appeal is accepted, we will look into working with Kang Daniel’s new label KONNECT Entertainment.”
Unsurprisingly, Kang Daniel’s reps were less than thrilled with any of this.
Kang Daniel’s representatives rejected this offer and said, “Kang Daniel is already pursuing independent activities. The trust in the relationship has already been shattered, which is why the independent label was formed, so we have no plans to maintain a contract with the agency. LM Entertainment claims that they are willing to provide support, but that is simply their opinion.” Regarding LM Entertainment’s stance regarding the joint enterprise contract with MMO Entertainment, Kang Daniel’s side stated, “What they are stating is simply another explanation of the same fundamental issue [that Kang Daniel’s rights were transferred to a third party],” and “Even if rights were partially, not fully, transferred, that is still a violation of an exclusive contract. What we are talking about here is that ‘most of his rights’ were transferred.” They also pushed back at LM Entertainment’s claims of damages as they said, “The profits Kang Daniel stands to lose by maintaining his contract with LM Entertainment is also immense. It isn’t just one side that incurs damages in this dispute.”
If you were ever on the fence about this case, honestly it feels like this is LME acknowledging that they fucked up and are now just begging the court to let them win so their reputation (what?) isn’t ruined and so they can just leech off Kang Daniel’s already established company.
I would be shocked at this point if they won the appeal, and most importantly, it is hilarious to watch a company beg legally.
