SEOUL—On the morning of April 20, the Seoul Central District Court ruled that Korea's COEX Theater had violated the law for canceling its contract with NTDTV Korea to host the Divine Performing Arts show.
COEX was ordered pay for all lawsuit expenses incurred by the plaintiff.
Hosted by NTDTV Korea, the Divine Performing Arts troupe was originally scheduled to perform at the COEX theater from April 24 to 26. The Divine Performing Arts will perform in Korea as scheduled and currently most tickets have already been sold.
After reviewing the performance programs and preparation plans provided by NTDTV Korea, the judge concluded that the contents of the performance by the Divine Performing Arts does not violate Korean laws, nor does it pose a threat to Korea's social order or jeopardize Korean-China trade relationship. The judge said that it was hard to substantiate the claims that the show had any political intentions and thus all arguments provided by the COEX Theater were found to be invalid.
The COEX Theater signed a contract with NTDTV Korea on February 7 to hire the theater for the performance of the US Divine Performing Arts. But on March 14, COEX suddenly canceled the contract. NTDTV Korea believes that the theater canceled the contract because of pressure from the Chinese Embassy and decided to sue.
The Seoul Central District Court issued a court verdict in the morning of April 20 in which the defendant, the COEX Theater, was ordered not to hinder the originally scheduled performances from April 24 to 26 in the COEX Theater by the Divine Performing Arts and sponsored by the plaintiff, NTDTV Korea.
Special Verdict Allows Divine Performing Arts Show to Meet Schedule
In view of the pressing scheduled performing dates and to ensure that the performance will be held as scheduled, the Court specifically informed both sides during the initial session that, "After making a decision as quickly as possible, the final verdict will be issued before the final court session." That is, a decision will be made before the final court session.
While Korean judges gave full consideration to the defendants' arguments, the judge in this lawsuit found all the arguments of the Coex Theater invalid.
The plaintiff, NTDTV Korea, said it was very satisfied with the verdict and would provide additional supporting documents to the court.
Divine Performing Arts Show Unstoppable
The Korea visit of the Divine Performing Art's global tour has been canceled twice because of interference from the CCP. After learning that it has given world-class performances around the world and its programs showcase authentic Chinese culture, however, the Korean's expectations have been continuously increasing. In just two days, all 4000 tickets for the two shows scheduled on April 24 and 25 were sold out.
In view of the enthusiastic response from the public, NTDTV Korea said that it has decided to add a show on the afternoon of April 25. Although April 25 is a weekday, tickets for this afternoon show are also running out quickly.
Feeds