No Min Woo Loses Lawsuit Against SM Entertainment After Appeal Gets Denied
Former TRAX member turned actor No Min Woo has lost his lawsuit against his former agency SM Entertainment once again.
On June 20, Supreme Court 2nd Division Judge Kwon Soon Il ruled that No Min Woo’s appeal would not be processed, as his appeal had no merit to it.
The court ruled that the appeal would not be appropriate to continue with, as the first and second trials both resulted in a loss for No Min Woo’s side. The court is allowed to dismiss an appeal without hearing it if there is deemed to have been no laws broken, or if the judgment was given fairly.
No Min Woo signed with SM Entertainment in 2000 and debuted in TRAX in 2004. In 2009, he terminated his contract with the company and transferred into Core Contents Media (CCM).
In 2015, he filed a lawsuit of ₩100 million KRW ($90,133 USD) against SM Entertainment, claiming they didn’t manage his entertainment activities properly and that they interfered with his career.
“SM Entertainment did not properly plan or manage No Min Woo from the day he debuted in TRAX to the day he left the agency. After he left, they did not do any management for him. They also did not provide him any opportunities for him to do his own music or to pursue acting. They pressured PD’s and producers to interfere with his entertainment activities.” — No Min Woo’s side
SM Entertainment countered by saying they paid for the penalty fees they encountered with his withdrawal and did not interfere at all with his activities.
“No Min Woo randomly decided to leave TRAX and because of this, we had to pay a penalty to the Japanese management. However, we did not ask No Min Woo to take responsibility for paying that penalty. We also provided support so he could pursue activities as an actor. He unilaterally notified us of the termination of his contract. We carried out our duties faithfully and did not interfere.” — SM Entertainment
No Min Woo has not promoted in Korea since 2015. He has held concerts in Japan in 2016, but nothing since then. The decision to dismiss his appeal has all but ended this lawsuit.
