Updated at 2:55 p.m., Thursday, June 21, 2007
Local promoters sue Rain over canceled concert
BY RICK DAYSOG
Advertiser Staff Writer
In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court today, Hawai'i-based Click Entertainment Inc. alleged that Rain, whose real name is Jung Ji-hoon, and his Korea-based producers, JYP Entertainment Co. and Star M Entertainment, defrauded it of more than $500,000 paid in licensing fees and other costs relating to the failed concert, which was scheduled for last Friday.
The suit, which was filed by local attorneys Eric Seitz and Ronald Kim, also said that Rain and his Korea-based promoters "sought to defraud the general public by aggrandizing and exaggerating the scope of the 'Rain's Coming' world tour."
Representatives for Rain, JYP Entertainment and Star M could not be reached for immediate comment. A spokeswoman for Rain's North American promoter, Revolution Entertainment, which also was named in the suit, declined comment.
The Honolulu concert was one of five in Rain's six-city U.S. tour that was shelved. Concerts in San Francisco, Atlanta, New York and San Jose, Calif., had been postponed and no new dates have been set. A June 30 concert at Los Angeles' Staples Center will go on as planned.
Click's lawsuit alleges that Rain's Korea-based promoters sold the company the license for a Honolulu concert for $500,000 but abruptly canceled about a week before the event on the grounds that the stage set up was inadequate.
Click said it addressed concerns about the staging but the Korea-based promoters still canceled, saying there was not enough time to go on with the concert. Click said Star M and JYP have refused to return the licensing fee.
Reach Rick Daysog at 525-8064 or rdaysog@honoluluadvertiser.com.