SM Entertainment honored by the Korean National Red Cross for social contributions

On April 5th, SM Entertainment signed a social contribution agreement with the Korean National Red Cross at the SM Entertainment building.

SM was honored for their contributions to the cause, as the agreement aims to expand humanitarian movement as well as establish a culture of volunteer and charity work.

SM also took the agreement as an opportunity to establish a Red Cross Youth organization for their company trainees in order to ensure that they’ll become leaders of humanitarian effort and volunteer work alongside SM employees.

Present at the event was CEO Kim Young Min, Yoo Jong Ha, president of the KNRC, Super Junior’s Yesung, SNSD’s Seohyun, SHINee’s Taemin, and f(x)’s Victoria.

Idol groups under fire for excessive performance fees at university festivals

The National Tax Service has begun a tax investigation on idol singers and universities after receiving complaints that idol performance fees for university festivals have skyrocketed as of late.

According to information revealed by CBS and No Cut News on April 5th, the National Tax Service began investigations on March 15th by asking universities to fill out a form detailing, from 2008 to 2010, which celebrities they had invited, how much they were paid and withholding tax, whether a contract was used, how they were invited, and other related information.

One university representative claimed that they speculated tax evasion on the celebrity’s end to be the cause, as festivals are usually paid for in cash without material evidence.

CBS reported that in 2010, the following idol groups received an average payment of:

Big Bang – $45,000 USD
2NE1/SNSD – $25,000 USD++
2PM – $25,000 USD
B2ST – $17,000 USD
KARA/T-ara – $16,000 USD
SECRET – $14,000 USD

The numbers are alarming in that most of the payments were within the thousands, rarely ever exceeding $10,000 USD, a couple years ago.

The topic of overpaying celebrities has been a hot debate for a while now, with many of the belief that the money should instead be invested in facilities for the students. While a guideline is needed, the National Tax Service has no right to block or bring down the worth of a star in the market.

SM Entertainment made a large contribution to the Red Cross on March 5th.

SM and the Red Cross met today, at 11am, to discuss how SM could increase humanitarian exercises as well as fostering a culture of voluntary agreements that could lead to a large amount of social contributions.

SM CEO Kim Youngmin attended the ceremony today, with Red Cross representatives, as well as Super Junior’s Yesung, SNSD’s Seohyun, SHINee’s Taemin, and f(x)’s Victoria. Red Cross captains also attended to give out top honors.

In addition, through this agreement SM agreed to be a part of the RCY (Red Cross Youth) program, therefore helping its formation. SM employees, who have regular promotional activities, participate regularly in pop culture and can lead a healthy group of volunteers to the forefront of this foundation.

Meanwhile from 2007 until now CSJH (2007), Super Junior (2007-2010), and f(x) (2010), have acted as ambassadors and donated blood to foster a culture of sharing among the community. This message led to contributions such as those that occurred when a massive earthquake hit Japan last month; so far, one billion won of relief has entered the Red Cross to help those affected by the tragedy.

Taeyeon's Never-Before-Seen Middle School Photos Surface

On April 5th, in the midst of the never-dying hype after Girls' Generation's latest performance, fans have discovered predebut pictures of Taeyeon when she was in middle school.

The first two photos show Taeyeon in her middle school uniform with her friends. Fans were really happy because photos of Taeyeon when she was in middle school have never surfaced before. The last photo shows Taeyeon singing in a karaoke room. The fan who found this photo cut off her body because her pose looked awkward.

View the pictures below!

SNSD and Super Junior revealed SPAO CF!

Check out SNSD and Super Junior's latest CF for SPAO!

SM Stocks Driven Up by Girls' Generation's "Mr Taxi"

SM Entertainment has recorded a second day of strong trading in the markets after having weakened in the aftermath of the devastating Japanese earthquake last month.

On April 5th, SM's shares rose 6.35% (1150 KRW) and recorded a high of 19,250 KRW by the time the markets closed. Volume of trading today was at 1,270,000 shares, double the figures from the day before at 740,000. The influx of purchases were noted at Samsung Securities, Kiwoom Securities, Daewoo Securities, NH Investment & Securities.

The Japanese earthquake on March 11th raised fears that the Hallyu could be severely dented, and SM shares had plummeted in value from 20,000 KRW to 16,000 KRW.

Having shown little signs of movement since then, the share prices rose by 4% yesterday and 6% today. The recovery of SM's market value is accredited to the announcement of Girls' Generation's new album, "Mr. Taxi"

According to SM Japan, HMV and other sites, Girls' Generation's new Japanese album "Mr Taxi" is scheduled for release on April 27th.

YoonA and Sunny on the set of ‘Running Man’

On April 5th, photos of YoonA were uploaded onto various portal sites with the title “YoonA, ‘Running Man’ filming fancam”. Sunny’s photo at the set was also being wide shared across the internet since this morning.

In the photos, YoonA looked extremely natural with her baseball hat and her long hair untied. Her beautiful figure is obvious although she was clad only in a black T-shirt and jeans. Sunny on the other, was seen in a blue vest with her hair tied.

Netizens commented “I also wore t-shirt, jeans, and a hat… but I don’t look like her”, “It looks like a beautiful female cop going undercover as a citizen”, “Wow, she really stands out”, etc

YoonA and Sunny finished filming for “Running Man” on April 4th at Dongdaemun PoongMul market.

MCA MUSIC Gives The First-ever Philippine Girls’ Generation Nationwide Album Launch!

Mark your calendars for this exciting and much-awaited event!

As an overwhelming request from SNSD fans all over the Philippines, MCA Music, Inc. brings you this first-ever nationwide release of Girls’ Generation 1 st Asia Tour ‘Into The New World’ album on April 9, with 6 participating outlets Filipino SONEs can head-off to: Astrovision The Block (SM North Edsa), Astrovision SM Mall of Asia, Astrovision SM Cebu City, Odyssey Megamall, Odyssey SM Bacoor and Odyssey SM Davao Activity Center! This launch activity commence at 11:00 AM onwards with ‘live’ performances by cover groups and fun-filled activities that await you and your friends! Be the first to purchase Girls Generation’s 1st Asia Tour ‘Into The New World’ album and be one of the privileged fans to get an exclusive hold of limited edition freebies that are to be given away only on this day! This 2-CD concert album is a recording of their December 2009 ‘Into The New World’ show in Seoul, containing a total of 38 of your most-loved tracks in 2 CDs. It also includes live tracks of Chocolate Love, Genie Rock Tronic Remix, Jessica's solo Barbie Girl, Soo Young's Santa Baby, and other Soshi hits and special stages and two bonus tracks — studio recordings of "Singin' in the Rain" and "Beautiful Girls". This must-have album also comes with a photo booklet, exclusively released under MCA Music, Inc. Celebrate Girls’ Generation’s new album release with your friends on April 9!

Moreover, to keep the excitement coming in, lucky fans will also get a chance to win freebies from MCA Universal! 200 fans will be able to choose from three options for the freebies: first is a giant poster as large as that of the Korean version; second is an SNSD fan; and third, an ITWN Pin from GGPH which is only to be given especially for the first 50 people who will purchase the album.