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March 19, 2009
Actor Kim Suk-hoon Speaks about His Role in 慣he Iron Empress抂/color]
Kim plays a royal descendant of the Shilla Kingdom
Actor Kim Suk-hoon talked on Monday about why he accepted the role he is currently playing in the new KBS2 TV drama 揟he Iron Empress |
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March 19, 2009
Teasers Whet Appetite for New Park Chan-wook Film
A teaser poster and trailer for Park Chan-wook抯 long-awaited latest film 揟hirst |
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March 19, 2009
Complaints Filed Against 7 in Actress' Suicide
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
The bereaved family of the late actress Jang Ja-yeon has filed complaints against seven people allegedly connected to her suicide, police said Thursday.
Bundang Police Station said Jang's elder brother officially petitioned for the investigation of the seven individuals for allegedly defaming and physically abusing the 30-year-old actress, who was found dead at her home March 8.
Of them, her previous manager, Yoo Jang-ho, and two others, have been accused of allegedly leaking her suicide note to the media without her family's approval and consequently tarnishing her name. The other four, including her former agency's head, identified as Lee, have been accused of physically abusing her and pressuring her to entertain and even have sex with TV producers and corporate and media executives.
"Among those accused of defamation are two media executives. But we cannot give detailed information about them due to privacy concerns," a police officer told reporters.
As the agency head is known to be staying in Japan, police Wednesday asked Japanese police to apprehend him and hand him over to Korean authorities.
Meanwhile, police are investigating how KBS, the nation's largest broadcaster, got its hands on part of the suicide note. KBS exclusively reported some of the content, saying it comprised seven pages but three were missing.
Yoo said during a press conference Wednesday, "I burned the seven-page suicide note in question in front of her family right after her funeral service and never gave it to the media." Police also backed his statement saying, ``We confirmed the actress's family and the manager completely burned the document at a temple in southern Seoul, March 12.''
But a KBS staff member involved in the report said he obtained the document March 13 in a trashcan nearby the manager's office, adding it was partially burnt and torn.
The head of her former agency and her manager are also telling different stories. Following the report about the document, Lee alleged, ``It was made to keep me from filing a suit against Yoo, who had acquired two actresses from my agency.''
In response, Yoo refuted the allegation and claimed that enraged by the agency head's repeated assaults, Jang wrote the document on her own Feb. 28 at his office.
Credits: [email protected]
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/ ... 9/03/117_41616.html |
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March 19, 2009
US TV Journalist-Cellist Meets Korea抯 Angelina Jolie
By Kim Se-jeong
Staff Reporter
U.S. cellist and TV journalist Paula Zahn, center, and the Sejong Soloists
perform the 揗anha de Carnaval |
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March 19, 2009
THIRST to be quenched in April
PARK Chan-wook抯 Thirst |
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March 19, 2009
First Time Director Indulges in Noir
The up and coming release of 慞rivate Eye |
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March 20, 2009
Police Confirm Jang Ja-yeon Left Explosive List
Jang Ja-yeon
Police on Thursday said a document left by Jang Ja-yeon before her suicide lists the names of figures related to sexual coercion the actress appears to have suffered. "Having read part of the document Jang wrote before she died, there were names of some persons who seem to be related to sexual coercion that Jang was put under. There is a possibility that another list exists," a police spokesman said.
Police said they obtained four pages of the document from broadcaster KBS, but Jang's ex-manager Yoo Jang-ho said the document was originally seven pages long. "The names of the related people appear in sentences in the obtained document," Bundang police said.
The broadcaster said earlier the document lists the names of senior public figures whom Jang was allegedly forced to entertain by her management agency.
Police suspects a more detailed list is contained in the remaining three pages. The announcement confirms what has been the stuff of rabid rumor on the Internet. According to the police, Jang's elder brother filed suit against three people including Yoo for defaming his late sister on Tuesday, along with four others, including the CEO of Jang's management agency, for sexual coercion.
Credits: englishnews@chosun.com |
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March 20, 2009
Celebrity Agents to Face License Exam from June
In the wake of the suicide of actress Jang Ja-yeon, the association of entertainers announced that it will carry out a license examination for management agents from June. "Since it is not officially recognized by the government, the license will not be legally binding. However, in order to enhance the quality and professionalism of publicists or managers, and reform past and ongoing malpractices, we decided to introduce the examination system," said the association.
Apart from that, Corea Entertainment Management Association decided to draft a standardized contract between entertainers and management agencies in order to prevent the exploitation of entertainers. It also decided to enforce the registration of current managers. Kim Gil-ho, 42, of CEMA, said, "We will expel anybody whose quality is questionable or whose acts are deemed problematic by the association, and will come up with measures to penalize them when they attempt to re-enter the industry."
Credits: englishnews@chosun.com |
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March 20, 2009
US Court Orders "Rain" to Pay $8 million
Korean singer and actor Rain's agency said Friday it will soon decide on its response to a U.S. court ruling ordering it to pay some $8 million in compensation for canceling a concert in Honolulu in 2007.
"This is a result we would never have expected," said Jung Wook, president of JYP Entertainment. "We will decide our future course of legal action in a few days after discussing it with attorneys who are on their way back (to Seoul)."
On Thursday, a Honolulu federal jury found Rain and his agency guilty of breaching a contract with Click Entertainment Inc. to perform a concert two years ago and ordered them to pay the Hawaiian promoter punitive charges and compensation.
Rain's concert was canceled a few days before the scheduled date of June 15 in 2007 at Aloha Stadium, the first stop on his U.S. tour. The tickets were sold for maximum $300 each.
Source: The Korea Times |
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March 20, 2009
Andre Kim to Design Film Tickets
Lotte Cinema will work with the renowned fashion designer for a charity event
Lotte Cinema said Thursday that it will work with Andre Kim for a six-month event where the fashion designer will design movie tickets, part of whose sales is to be donated to help children in need.
Starting from March 25, those using the cinema will receive tickets designed by Kim, and one Korean won per ticket sale will go to the UNICEF to be used for child welfare and human rights.
Kim, who is serving as a goodwill ambassador to the UNICEF, will personally join the launch of the event by working at the box office of the theater抯 Konkuk University branch next Wednesday from 2:30 p.m.
揗ore and more multiplex theaters are replacing tickets with receipts to reduce costs, so issuing specially designed tickets is like going against the trend, |
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March 19, 2009
Singer Fails to Return from Military Leave
Lee Jan-jin, a former member of the late 1990s idol group, Sechs Kies, has not returned to his unit after a five-day military leave. Currently fulfilling his military duty in an army unit in Gyeonggi Province, Lee has gone AWOL for 12 days as of Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Defense. The last time he made contact with anyone was when he called his unit commander to confirm his return on the morning of his return.
His disappearance has alarmed his friends and family, especially his sister, Lee Eun-joo, a member of singing group Mugadang (Sugar-free). Lee抯 parents had both passed away before he joined the military and Eun-joo is his only family. A military source has disclosed that Lee has frequented military hospitals for depression, which may have been caused by the deaths of his parents, involvement in an illegal scheme to dodge military duty, and his stagnant music career.
Lee抯 sister and friends are reluctant to speculate any foul play, still thinking that he抯 off somewhere alone to think though many of his problems. In the meantime, authorities have not released any details about the investigation.
Source: KBS World |
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March 20, 2009
Rain Ordered to Pay $8 Million
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
Singer Rain
K-pop singer Rain and his managers were ordered to pay more than $8 million to Hawaii promoters for canceling a 2007 concert in Honolulu, the Associated Press reported, Thursday.
An American federal jury said the 26-year-old star, his agency at the time JYP Entertainment and two South Korean promotion companies breached a contract to perform, and defrauded Click Entertainment. Nearly $5 million was called for in punitive damages, with Rain and JYP each ordered to pay $2.4 million. An additional $1 million was awarded for damages related to the fraud and $2,286,000 was called for breach of contract. This amounts to about 11.27 billion won.
"We're obviously very disappointed with the jury's decision in this matter,'' Rain's lead lawyer, Jon Crocker, was quoted as saying. "We maintain our position that both JYP and Rain fulfilled all their obligations with regard to the Hawaii performance. We will continue to vigorously defend them, wherever these promoters bring these baseless lawsuits."
Rain's concert was canceled a few days before the scheduled June 15, 2007, event at Aloha Stadium. It was supposed to be the first stop of the "Rain's Coming" United States tour, and fans paid as much as $300 for a single ticket and flew to Honolulu from as far away as Japan.
Click President Lee Seung-su testified that he lost nearly $1.5 million due to the cancellation, which also damaged his business reputation. He argued that Rain and his traveling entourage of 90 people never intended to perform in Hawaii, saying the crew never applied for proper visas or shipped their equipment.
Rain, whose proper name is Jung Ji-hoon, testified for 90 minutes. He said he had every intention of performing and that he had no hand in the cancellation.
Crocker argued the contract Lee had was not with Rain or JYP. It was with a company named Revolution Entertainment, owners with the North American rights to Rain's concerts, he said. The lawyer also said a proper stage wasn't created for the star in addition to Rain being unable to use his name in the U.S. because of a copyright challenge from a Beatles tribute band named Rain.
The jury reached the verdict on Thursday after deliberating for more than a day. "I didn't know the verdict would be reached this quickly," said Cho Dong-won, CEO of Rain's current agency JTune Entertainment, according to Yonhap News. "We did not expect this result and will take legal action after discussing it with our lawyers," he said.
Jeong Wook from JYP Entertainment also expressed great surprise. "We were sure that we were going to win, so we're very shocked. We thought the trial was going to take a few days and our staff members are already flying back. We will be discussing ways to appeal against the decision and take other legal measures," he said.
The judgment is expected to set off other lawsuits in the U.S., with a similar case recently filed in Los Angeles as Rain's Staples Center concert was called off a couple of hours before show time.
The 26-year-old singer is widely known as "the Justin Timberlake of Asia." In addition to his dance music, he gained popularity for his roles in "Full House" and other Korean TV soaps. In 2006, Time magazine named him one of the "100 most influential people in the world," and nominated him again this year for the online vote.
He made his Hollywood debut last year in the Wachowski brothers' film "Speed Racer" and will appear in a leading role in the upcoming action film "Ninja Assassin," co-produced by the brothers and directed by James McTeigue.
Credits: hyowlee@koreatimes.co.kr |
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March 22, 2009
Actor Jang Loses Suit Against Singer
By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
Actor Jang Dong-gun and singer Choi Seong-soo have lost a suit against singer and actor Lim Chang-jung over the right to enjoy unobstructed sunshine in their homes.
The Seoul Central District Court said, Sunday, that it ruled against 15 owners of an apartment building in Jamwon-dong, southern Seoul, including Jang and Choi, who filed the compensation suit against 13 people, including Lim.
Lim and the defendants had a nine-story building demolished and a 16-story building built near the plaintiffs' apartment in March last year. The new building, located about 30 meters away from the apartment, obstructed part of the views and blocked sunshine to their homes.
Jang and the others filed the suit that demands 8.8 to 83 million won in compensation each, claiming the value of the houses fell.
But the court ruled that the obstruction was not excessive.
"The apartment has windows facing northwest and southeast, and the new building affects the sunshine coming through the southeastern window, which is smaller than the other. So, the building does not affect the sunshine of the main window of the houses," it said.
Credits: rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr, image from mydaily via daum.net |
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March 22, 2009
Police raid office of dead actress' agency
Police yesterday raided the office of the former agent of deceased actress Jang Ja-yeon.
Jang committed suicide at her home on March 7. Accusations made in personally written letters that she was forced to have sex with influential figures in the media and show business industry have shocked the nation.
Investigators searched the three-story building of her former manager Kim Sung-hun in southern Seoul, seizing a computer, documents and CCTV recordings. It is thought that the office was the scene of secret parties where Kim wooed a newspaper publisher, a conglomerate owner and TV producers.
Kim has been living in Japan since December and denies the allegations. Yoo Jang-ho, the actress' former manager who revealed the existence of her explosive letters, will also be called in for questioning as early as today, according to officials.
Jang's family has raised suspicions on the authenticity of the letters. They earlier filed a suit against Yoo for defaming her through the documents.
The police will also investigate Yoo on allegations of having leaked the documents to the media. The story has taken on a life of its own on the internet with netizens circulating a list of names supposedly named by the dead actress as sexual abusers.
Cyber police forces are following up on the online rumors as potential cases for libel.
Credits: Bae Hyun-jung ([email protected]) via: koreaherald.co.kr |
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NEWS INDEX page 96
March 22, 2009: Police Tracing Sex Contacts of Late Actress Jang
March 22: 'Korean Directors Possible Candidates at Cannes'
March 20: Rain Loses Lawsuit in Hawaii
March 23: Actress Choi Yeo-jin Thanks Actor So Ji-sup
March 23: TV Star-Turned-Academic Has Hopes for Korean Wave
March 23: U.S. Court Orders 'Rain' to Pay $8 Million
March 23: Police Find 'Brothel' at Jang Ja-yeon Management Firm
March 23: Shin Flies High in "My Scary Girl"
March 23: 'Tokyo Sonata' best film at Asian Film Awards
March 23: Jung Woo-sung Wins at Asian Film Awards
March 24: Hwang Jung-min, Kim A-joong to Appear in KBS2 Drama
March 24: Park Chan-wook New Film Generating Massive Buzz
March 24: Epic film noir rich in period detail (Private Eye)
March 24: Rain Faces Provisional Seizure of Property
March 24: [MOVIE REVIEW] Hwang convincing in detective role
March 24: TVXQ in Guinness World Record
March 25: Cho Hae-ryun Planning Debut in US Before 50
March 25: Female Big Bang to be Unveiled
March 24: Jung Woo-sung named best supporting actor at Hong Kong festival
March 25: Actor Cha In-pyo releases his first novel
March 24: BoA Unable to Make Pre-Game Performance
March 25: Singer Lee Mee-ja receives high medal of cultural merit
March 26: Legendary Singer Receives Presidential Award
March 25: Hollywood producer Lee to give tips
[ Last edited by katt at 27-3-2009 20:04 ] |
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March 22, 2009
Police Tracing Sex Contacts of Late Actress Jang
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Police raided the late actress Jang Ja-yeon's management agency office
in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, Sunday and confiscated various documents and computer files.
Curiously, the building has a bedroom and shower / Korea Times Photo by Hong In-kee
Police raided the office of the late actress Jang Ja-yeon's management agency in Seoul amid growing allegations that the office had been used for years as a room for secret entertaining and sexual intercourse between show business VIPs and its actresses.
The Bundang Police Station said investigators arrived at the office in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, at 1 a.m. They confiscated more than 200 documents, surveillance camera records and computer files in a three-hour search of the building. They confirmed the veiled three-story building had a bedroom and shower on the third floor and the first floor was remodeled like an upscale bar.
The raid was aimed at securing evidence backing the late actress's claims in a suicide note that she was pressured to entertain and have sex with media and corporate executives in exchange for raising her media exposure through their influence, police said.
The investigation was initiated based on her note, but has failed to make substantial progress due to lack of evidence. "We found a secret room on the third floor, which has a shower and a bed," chief investigator Oh Ji-yong said. "But how the room was used is yet to be verified."
Investigators said a bar on the first floor was decorated with brown luxurious European-style furniture with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Police confirmed the agency's head Kim, now hiding in Japan, hosted fashion shows there. The second floor is the agency's administrative office, they said. The 70-square-meter third floor was built in October 2007.
Nearby residents said parking lots in front of the building were packed with luxury sedans almost every night and most lights in and outside the building remained turned on almost every night for a party. Police will analyze the documents, computer files and CCTV records to confirm the list of visitors. They are also meeting nearby residents for clues to their identities.
Police have yet to summon her former manager Yoo Jang-ho for questioning as his attorney asked for a delay, citing health reasons.
Credits: pss@koreatimes.co.kr |
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March 22, 2009
'Korean Directors Possible Candidates at Cannes'
By Hwang Sung-hee
Korea Times Intern
Director Park Chan-wook will release
his new film "Thirst" locally April 30.
There may be a possibility for two big name Korean film directors to compete in the Cannes International Film Festival, to be held in May 13 to 24. Park Chan-wook's newest release "Thirst" and Bong Jun-ho's new thriller "Mother" are the potential candidates, AFP reported Saturday.
Park Chan-wook, who won the top award at 2004 Cannes Film Festival for his internationally-acclaimed film "Old Boy," will return to the movie scene with a vampire thriller, "Thirst," after a three-year hiatus. It tells the story of a respectful priest (Song Kang-ho) who becomes a vampire after receiving a blood transfusion from an unknown source. The vampire-turned-priest then falls in love with his friend's wife (Kim Ok-bin) and the two lovers plot a murder. The movie is slated for release on April 30.
Director Bong Joon-ho will release
his new film "Mother" in May.
Bong's thriller "Mother" stars veteran actress Kim Hye-ja as its main character, differing from most thrillers which usually boasts a lineup of younger male actors. Kim plays the role of a distressed mother who fights against the world in her struggle to prove the innocence of her son (Won Bin) from a false charge of homicide. Slated for release in May, Bong hopes to explore the unconditional love that all mothers have for their children. The director received the award for Best Director at 2007 Oporto International Film Festival and at the 2007 (Korean) Grand Bell Awards for his monster film "The Host."
As for the potential winner of the Golden Palm, or the Palme d'Or, AFP listed world-renowned directors such as Jane Campion, Quentin Tarantino, Johnnie To Kei-Fung, Pedro Almodovar and Ken Loach.
The General Delegate of Cannes International Film Festival Thierry Fremaux told AFP that Cannes is always open to "discovering new talented directors." The final list of successful candidates will be announced April 23.
Credits: [email protected] via koreatimes.co.kr |
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March 20, 2009
Rain Loses Lawsuit in Hawaii
Korean pop star Rain has lost a lawsuit filed against him for cancelling a concert in 2007. A Hawaiian jury Thursday morning imposed a damage compensation of more than 8 million dollars for Rain and his then management company, JYP Entertainment.
Rain was supposed to kick off his U.S. tour in Hawaii back in summer of 2007, but abruptly cancelled the show. Hawaii-based Click Entertainment said the singer breached his contract, bringing the company to lose 1.5 million dollars. A Click Entertainment official claimed that Rain never made any attempt to address the problem or even apologize to his fans in Hawaii for failing to put on the long-awaited performance. A similar lawsuit is pending in Los Angeles, where he also cancelled his concert.
Although Rain and his associates said they will file for appeal, legal experts project the appeal won抰 be accepted and the trial is essentially over. Despite the gloomy prospect for appeal or a deal with the prosecutors, Rain is reportedly reluctant to accept the ruling and looking at all the options. He抯 said to be psychologically crushed by the fraud verdict.
Source: KBS World |
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March 23, 2009
Actress Choi Yeo-jin Thanks Actor So Ji-sup
Actress Choi Yeo-jin has expressed deep gratitude for actor So Ji-sub at the KBS2 talk show 揌appy Together |
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Author
