SM Entertainment sent its congratulatory flower wreath to Kim Jaejoong following the launch of his company. 

But why are his fans raising their brows at the agency? 

Artists, K-pop Companies Send Flower Wreaths To Launch of Kim Jaejoong's Agency

On June 15, Kim Jaejoong held an opening ceremony for his newly-established agency, iNKODE, at the office building in Mapo-gu, Seoul.

After parting ways with C-JeS, his label for 14 years, Kim decided to take on the challenge of opening his own company, in partnership with his trusted co-founder Noh Hyun Tae.

The latter is popular in the music industry as a former Cube Entertainment Vice President, who led the success of BEAST (Highlight) and 4Minute. 

On the day of launch, photos and videos taken by fans and officials who visited the opening ceremony were posted on SNS and online communities.

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To celebrate the launch of Jaejoong's label, several companies and celebrities sent their flower wreaths, such as BIGBANG G-Dragon, HYBE, JYP Entertainment, SM Entertainment, Pledis, and more, while his close friends including his co-JYJ Junsu came personally to greet Jaejoong.

People Give SM Entertainment 'Side-Eye' After Sending Wreath to Kim Jaejoong

According to several attendees, one wreath particularly became the most noticeable – and it was none other than the flower from SM Entertainment!

This information became known after a video was uploaded where it can be seen that Kim Jaejoong took pictures with a wreath sent by the company.

As soon as K-pop stans became aware of this, they couldn't help but give SM Entertainment the "side-eye" and question the "audacity" of the company to congratulate Jaejoong.

In context, Kim Jaejoong is a former SM Entertainment artist, who debuted in 2003 with TVXQ (currently comprised of Yunho and Changmin).

In 2009, Junsu, Yoochun, and Jaejoong (JYJ), who are all former TVXQ members, filed a lawsuit to terminate their exclusive contracts with SM Entertainment, and announced their departure from the group.

At the time, the trio exposed the company's labor exploitation, forcing them to sign contracts with absurd clauses and unfair profit distribution. 

This lawsuit became a huge controversy in Korea, given the popularity of TVXQ at the time. In October 2009, the court accepted the three artists' injunction, and decided to guarantee their independent entertainment activities.

Since then, they have been active as the group JYJ (comprised of Junsu and Jaejoong).

While it sounds like a happy ending to some, it was actually just the start of JYJ's battle with SM, as it was revealed that the trio was banned and blacklisted to perform on national television, let alone attend music programs and shows as per the company's request, leveraging their then most popular groups. 

As a result, the duo was forced to focus on their promotions in other countries instead, such as Japan.

With this, Jaejoong's fans are angered at how SM can still send the flower wreath and act like everything that happened was nothing. They also feel upset by the fact that the company "ruined" Jaejoong's career in Korea, who is one of the most legendary male idols.

To date, it is said that the star still can't appear in the country's shows and programs after being blacklisted.

READ MORE: The Case Of JYJ And SM Entertainment: Finally The Shocking Truth Was Revealed Through Released Documents From The Court

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Written by Eunice Dawson.