U.S. court orders S. Korean pop star to pay $8 million

SEOUL, March 20 (Yonhap) -- South 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 US$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.
While Click Entertainment claims it lost more than $1.5 million for the
cancellation and suffered damages to its business reputation, Rain argues the
concert stage was not properly set up for him. He also says he was not able to
use his name in the United States because of a copyright challenge from a U.S.
Beatles tribute band also called Rain.
The 26-year-old singer, whose real name is Jung Ji-hoon, is one of the most
popular male celebrities in Korea and is also widely known across Asia. He has
gained some fame in the United States since appearing on Comedy Central's "The
Colbert Report," and will star in the upcoming Hollywood movie "Ninja Assassin."
hayney@yna.co.kr
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