SM asks TVXQ members for decision by next week

Major talenthouse SM Entertainment has given three members of TVXQ a 10-day deadline to decide on whether they will be part of the team to resume their activities in Korea next year.

The fate of one of the most successful bands in Korea has been up in the air since Hero Jaejoong, Micky Yoochun and Xiah Junsu asked a court in late July to nullify their exclusive contract with their agency SM Entertainment.

"Our company is set to make preparation's for TVXQ's comeback to the domestic music scene next spring. We request for a response on this by the three members by November 12," SM CEO Kim Young-min stated during a press conference on Monday.

Kim explained that the three members will be able to carry out their individual activities in accordance with a court ruling last week but must go through the agency to resume their activities as TVXQ. The Seoul Central District court granted the three members partial victory of their request, saying that the agency cannot not interfere in their individual activities.

U-Know Yunho and Max Changmin, members of the boy band who had not engaged in legal action against SM, also asked for a decision by the remaining members of their group for a decision saying that they are with the agency on the issue.

"We think we should prepare at least six months in advance to resume our activities in Korea next spring. If you really want to continue your activities as members of TVXQ, please make a decision before it is too late," the two said in a written statement distributed at the press conference.

Both SM and the two also pinpointed to the cosmetics business as being the cause of the issue. "This is not an issue of unfair terms of contract, human rights or a slave contract...... Many things changed after the three started their cosmetics business which led to clashes and conflict within the group and our company," Kim explained.

U-Know and Max ended their statement by saying: "It is distressing to see how this could happen over a cosmetics business and we hope things can go back to where they were before all of this."

TVXQ, who debuted in 2004 with album "Hug", is one of Korea's most successful K-pop groups. They are stars throughout Asia, reportedly having the largest fanbase in the world, and have enjoyed great success in the Japanese music industry in particular.