Hangeng when he was still with Suju.
Try not to have a nosebleed :p
The first shocker, or rather pleasant surprise, was that he’s actually coming to Singapore for a concert. Kstars just don't come often enough.
The second was when Hangeng was referred to as an ex-Super Junior member. All I managed to gather (from youtube trawling) was that he threatened to quit but was talked out of it by Leeteuk. He’s also somewhat allowed to do his own solo activities for a while. And there was a mention of him having to pay out loads of money to SM Entertainment (SME)– the company that Super Junior is under.
Admittedly, youtube is not the most reliable of sources. With bits of pieces of information decentralized all over the net, I went to compile a timeline of what exactly transpired.
Timeline of Hangeng’s story with SME:
News first broke when Hangeng was still in China for SJ-M activities.
December 21, 2009: Unknown to SME, Court received complaint from Hangeng which later was accepted and processed.
Late December 2009: 6 other Super Junior members also filed lawsuit. The “news” originated in China with no coverage in Korea. They have since been discarded as merely rumours.
January 8, 2010: He temporary refused to come into contact with the company while resting which spanned 7 months citing personal reasons for health and also because he was advised by his attorney not to. Since his lawsuit, Hangeng’s relationship with SME has been awkward and as the case is still ongoing, involvement with SME or Super Junior may cause complications.
March 2010: Rumours that Hangeng has signed contracts with companies in China began circulating. The companies named depended on the variant of the rumour. This was later disputed by Hangeng himself.
March 29, 2010: Hangeng’s lawyer revealed the reason behind his termination.
Sun’s (Hangeng’s lawyer) pronounce: All the following statements come out from the truth that I’ve witnessed around HanGeng these years, and I promise I’ll be responsible for all my words.
I.MasksCredits: kpoplive.com
In the early time of Super Junior’s debut (around the end of 2005 to the beginning of 2006), Hangeng (Han) had to perform with a mask on his face and could only appear in few TV station because of some reasons.This has shown obvious discrimination against Han,which also caused him to have some severe psychological problems.There are problems in some of the laws in South Korea, and also in management of SM Entertainment (SME). Along with the fact that Han was excused from wearing masks later on, we could draw the conclusion that SME didn’t handle the issue suitably and ignored Han’s interest and rights.
II.Discrimination
One of the concerts in Super Junior’s Super Show occurred on November 22, 2008 in ShangHai. Han’s family members were arranged in the far corner willingly or unwillingly, while the Korean members’ families were arranged in the center of the auditorium. The arrangement wasn’t changed until Han’s family found out about the discriminatory act. They were able to get seats in center of the auditorium after contending with SME.
III. Discrimination on Financial Dividend
Korean members in Super Junior shared all the expenses in China (including private living goods) with the Company and other members. However, Hangeng had to pay his personal fees by himself, which was very unfair for him.
VI. Discrimination Against Chinese Actors in Daily Life
Every Korean member could go back home in their free time in Korea, while Han was asked to stay in the apartment with the other members in China. The company reluctantly accepted Han’s request of renting an apartment near the site of the company through a discussion.
V. Insecurity of Reward Distribution
SME settles Han’s accounts biannually with only general ledgers but not detailed accounts. The unclear accounts deprived Han’s right of knowing information. In addition, it said that Han couldn’t get enough security on his originally poor payment. SME never offered detailed receipts for scripts or copies, and refused to provide them despite several times of demanding.
SME offered only Korean Won to Han which needs two times of agiotage [business of dealing in foreign exchange] to turn to Chinese Yuan. The loss between the agiotage brings up more loss to the unfair reward. Although SME doesn’t have a formal subsidiary company, they still have a respectable RMB cash flow. Han Geng has suggested changing the settlement method in order to minimize losses, but was refused without a reasonable explanation. SME ignored Han and never explained or resolved this issue.
VI. SME often procrastinates, and even refuses many development opportunities for Han which infringes his rights a lot. Here is the evidence:
1. In the year of 2009, Procter&Gamble Company decided to employ a male actor to endorse for OLAY products for the first time. SME refused the cooperation for many reasons while Han Geng knew nothing about the whole thing until he was informed through a staff member at end of 2009.
2. In June 2009, the Taiwanese actress Ariel Lin called for a hero in her music video. Han was the designated hero chosen by Lin’s company, but SME refused the request. Instead, they had Lee Donghae and Choi Siwon participate in the MV. Lin’s company finally allowed the two Korean actors to be in Lin’s MV, which limited Han Geng’s development.
3. At the end of 2008, the movie Mulan started to choose an actor for the men’s second role. The producer favorited Han Geng and communicated with SME many times, but SM did not accept any of the invitations. This not only limited Han’s personal development, but is also goes against SME’s promise to give acting opportunities to Han [Han always wanted to be an actor].
Regarding all the facts above, from my viewpoint, firstly, SME offered little opportunities to Han Geng (2 single Endorsements, 1 TV series from debut) despite his popularity. What’s more, SM rejected many opportunities when people wanted to recruit Han Geng, which is obviously discrimination.
Secondly, SM put a constraint on Han’s development when Han was given many good chances. SME did not support him for fear that Han would form personal developing rooms and resources. This violates Han’s legitimate interests and restricts his personal development terribly.
Finally, freedom on economic activity is the basic human right which nobody could attempt to deprive or restrict. The series of actions by SME tend to and have indeed deepened Han’s attachment to the Company. It has also restricted Han’s freedom of economic activities. Such an action is severe infringement on Han Geng’s individual fundamental rights.
VII. SM was ill-mannered to Han’s potential customers and friends, and also framed people to introduce businesses to Han Geng.
Take me for example. Around March or April in 2009, I introduced a performing business called Night of Changbai to Han Geng. SME quoted a higher price to me (take ￥350,000 yuan for example [$51,000 USD]) and quoted a lower price to the sponsor (￥300,000 yuan for example [$44,000 USD]), which made the sponsor mistake me for accepting bonuses, hurting my own fame. I called Mr.Kim, the broker of SM, to ask him why SME does so, only get a reply like “we won’t do that next time” – no solution was proposed. Many show sponsors, media, and cooperators also strongly dislike the attitudes and the ways of the SM staff
June 22, 2010:
Hankyung and his attorney held a press conference at Great Wall Mutianyu to discuss his solo album and the SME lawsuit. Hankyung revealed, “After today, I will be officially doing solo activity.”Source: Sports Chosun
Hankyung claimed that, “the rumor of me trying to gather 2,000,000 Won to pay the penalty fee for canceling the contract is not true.” He explained that, “if I win against SM, I don’t have to pay a dime. So that will not happen.” 2 billion Won = US $1,692,476.70
Also, he revealed that, “on July 17th and the 18th, I will be having a concert where my fans can preview my solo album titled 庚心 which will be officially released on the 27th. His attorney added that, “even though the lawsuit against SM is ongoing, Hankyung releasing his solo album and doing solo activity is all legal.”
Translated by Minnie @ SUJUISM.BLOGSPOT.COM
Addtionally, Hangeng also shared that relations with his ex-band Super Junior has remained well. He has invited them to his first solo concert and they have given him their blessings.
July 12, 2010: On a more personal note, during an interview on a BTV program, Hangeng divulged some of his personal reasons on his decision to leave SME. The videos are all subbed. For the full interview, turn on annotations for translation.
The gist:
The full interview split into 3 videos:
Aug 16, 2010: The singer recently made an appearance on a Taiwanese program titled Shen Chunhua Life Show
It’s in Mandarin and I couldn't find a subbed version. I shall try my best to translate accurately. Forgive if it's slightly off. Although I've been schooled in it, it's not my strongest language.
The commenter talks about Hangeng's dancing ability and dancing background.
“During an interview, the hosts ask him about living abroad alone to Han Guo. He couldn't bear the high stress levels and that language was different.”
“Hangeng: I read an article written by someone that everyday was frustrating (for Korean artists). Even when other people spoke to that person (the artists), or gave that person a job to do, that person feels frustrated. He comments: Why does it seem so similar to that period (while with SME) in my life?”
“When the hosts reads out a message from his dad to him, Hangeng was unable to hold back his tears”
“Host: Dad will always be your (strength?) Dad has always been well. Dont (worry?) about us.”
“Even the host couldn't hold back - her eyes turning red.”
“But that wasn't all. The program even arranged a live call to his dad in Dong Bei to allow them to speak their hearts.”
Dad speech (sorry I couldn’t translate the first part of the convo directly so here’s the gist): Hangeng’s father encouraged Hangeng to do a good job, repaying his fans and also to look after his health well.
“They then sang a song together. Hangeng's overwhelming reception was worth his tough decision. “
The commenter then signs off.
End of Timeline.
A good source of information was Shiningbluey. There are many other minor sites that divulge more details. I try to give credit when necessary. Let me know if I've left out some.
Lawsuit verdict: At first it was promised that the earliest Hangeng can be free of SME was around March 2010. Since then there have been delays with the latest postponed date being 20 August 2010. Today’s date is 9 Sept. Obviously there’s been another cancellation of the final verdict release date. There have been rumours that SME was using some underhanded means (delay tactics, such as a sudden change in judge in charge of the court case back in February).
I don’t know much of SME before this case but after turning up so much negative feedback and hearing about their similar lawsuit with DBSK from friends, I hope they close down. I’m sure better and more respectable companies wouldn’t mind absorbing their talents. Super Junior would surely be able survive without them, just as Hangeng has proven that he can.
I’ve sort of admire Hangeng’s soft mannerisms and mature and positive mindset. It’s nice to know he’s still strongly tied to Super Junior members on a personal level. I wish him all the best in his solo pursuit (although from the looks of things, he doesn’t need any luck or well wishes ^^)
Hangeng fighting~!
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