diymy Chapter 92 The Art of Delay
Chapter 92 The Art of Delay
Chapter 92 The Art of Delay
He gently placed the document on the table, then placed one hand firmly on the cover.
"Based on the advice of the professional lawyers I consulted, if the Fair Trade Commission ultimately finds that SM has engaged in unfair trade practices, the company will face huge fines and will be forced to completely amend the exclusive contracts of all its artists."
Jiang Yan paused, his gaze slowly sweeping over each face with its different expressions in the conference room, before finally settling on Lee Soo-man.
"More importantly, during this sensitive period when the whole nation is watching the three major entertainment companies, if a top artist within one of these companies is treated unfairly, or even blacklisted or punished, for explicitly refusing to take on roles involving explicit content, what do you think will happen if this gets exposed by the media or if the artist directly files a complaint with the Fair Trade Commission?"
"bass!"
Kim Sung-hoon sprang up from his chair, the solid wood legs scraping against the polished floor with a sharp, piercing sound.
"Jiang Yan! Are you openly threatening the company?!" He pointed at Jiang Yan's nose, his chest heaving violently, and the veins on his forehead bulging.
"Oh dear." Jiang Yan didn't even lift his eyelids. "I'm just reminding everyone to avoid risks that can be avoided."
"you!"
"Kim Sung-hoon, sit down."
When Lee Soo-man's deep eyes swept over him, Kim Sung-hoon felt as if he had been doused with cold water, and his anger instantly froze.
The muscles in his cheeks twitched violently a few times, but he gritted his teeth and sat back down heavily.
Lee Soo-man stopped looking at him and turned his gaze back to Jiang Yan, tapping his fingers three times slowly on the table.
"Is what you're saying true?"
"The official investigation announcement released by the Fair Trade Commission on March 15th can be found on the official website by anyone." Jiang Yan released his hand from the document and pushed it forward half an inch. "Inside is the original text of the announcement that I printed out, as well as in-depth interpretations of this investigation by three financial media outlets."
Kim Young-min reached for the document, quickly flipped through two pages, and frowned slightly: "Even if the investigation is true, what direct connection does this have with the 'ReaI' project you insisted on bringing up today?"
"It's a big deal."
Jiang Yan reached out and picked up the "ReaI" risk assessment report that Lee Soo-man had set aside. He flipped to the last page with a "whoosh" and tapped heavily on the line about forcing artists to perform high-risk scenes.
"The core controversy surrounding the 'ReaI' project has never been the box office, but rather the nude and violent scenes that Director Kim intended to force Sulli to perform."
"If she publicly raises objections at this critical juncture, or if an internal employee leaks the matter to the media, the company will not only face a box office loss of several hundred million, but also a double whammy of heavy regulatory penalties and a media storm."
"At that time, not only will 'ReaI' be canceled, but all the film and television projects that the company is preparing will be labeled as exploiting artists."
He closed the report, placed his hands on the table, and leaned forward slightly. "So my suggestion is that the company immediately establish an artist script review team to review all film and television projects that involve large-scale content, high risks, or that the artist has explicitly objected to. The artist will have a veto right."
The words fell.
A deathly silence fell over the conference room.
Three seconds later.
"Ha ha ha ha----"
Kim Sung-hoon suddenly burst into a hoarse and shrill laugh. He leaned back in his chair, laughing so hard he was doubled over, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.
"Jiang Yan! You've only been with the company for less than a month, and you dare to tell us how to manage it? Do you know what this proposal means? A veto right? You're handing a knife to the artists, letting them shit on the company's head! It's utterly absurd!"
"Chief Kim, your vision is too narrow." Jiang Yan met his gaze without backing down. "I believe this is the best card SM can play right now."
"The Fair Trade Commission is investigating, the media is watching, and artists all over the peninsula are observing. Rather than waiting for the commission to throw rectification notices in our faces, we should take the initiative and launch an artist rights protection mechanism first."
"This not only helps the company avoid regulatory risks, but also earns a lot of goodwill in the public eye. It can even snatch more high-quality trainees who don't want to be exploited from JYP and YG. Can't Chief Kim figure this out?"
"you!"
He's right.
Kenzie, who had been silent all along, spoke again, instantly interrupting Kim Sung-hoon's roar.
She closed her notebook, looked up at Lee Soo-man in the main seat, and said, "Mr. Lee Soo-man, the Fair Trade Commission's investigation is a done deal, and the controversy over the company's artist contracts has existed for more than a decade. Rather than being passively attacked, it is better to plan ahead and take the initiative to reform. It will always be much less costly than being forced to make changes."
She turned her head and gave Kim Sung-hoon, whose face was ashen, a cold glance: "Chief Kim, I'm not speaking up for Kang Yeon, I'm speaking up for SM. If we wait until Sulli publicly rebels and the media exaggerates the story, the committee will definitely make an example of SM. Not to mention 'ReaI' in your hands, the entire film and television department's annual budget may be cut directly."
Kim Sung-hoon's face went from ashen to deathly pale. His lips moved for a long time before he finally managed to squeeze out four words through gritted teeth:
That's alarmist.
Jiang Yan added insult to injury, "Whether it's alarmist or not, let's just say that when the media storm really comes. It'll be fine as long as Chief Kim is still sitting in this conference room saying those words."
"Knock knock knock".
Lee Soo-man tapped the table again, ending the increasingly heated argument.
He looked at Jiang Yan, his gaze behind his glasses as deep and unfathomable as an ancient well. After a full half minute, he slowly spoke: "How exactly does this script review panel you mentioned operate?"
Jiang Yan's heart stirred slightly, and he quickly replied in a clear and organized manner: "The three-person fixed team consists of one artist representative, who is elected by all the artists; one production representative, who is responsible for assessing the impact of the project on the artist's commercial value; and one legal representative, who is responsible for controlling compliance risks. The scope of review is limited to the three special projects mentioned earlier, and we will never interfere with the company's normal operations and resource allocation. Essentially, it is to build a firewall."
"Can the celebrity representative be changed?"
"For different projects, the artists involved can nominate temporary representatives themselves."
Lee Soo-man nodded, then turned to Kim Young-min: "What do you think?"
Kim Young-min adjusted his glasses and pondered for a few seconds: "From a compliance and public relations perspective, this mechanism can indeed help the company avoid many potential risks, but the implementation details need to be carefully refined. For example, the timeliness of the review process. If there are projects with tight schedules, a process that is too cumbersome will cause delays."
"Kim Young-min," Lee Soo-man raised his hand to interrupt him, "I'm asking you if this direction is correct."
Kim Young-min paused for a moment, then nodded solemnly: "The direction is right. Protecting artists' rights is an industry trend. Since it has to change sooner or later, we might as well be at the forefront."
"Um.
"6
Lee Soo-man responded and looked at Kang Yeon again, "Okay, I understand your suggestion. Regarding the script review team, the legal department will take the lead, in conjunction with the marketing department and the artist management department, to come up with a preliminary feasibility plan first, and then we will discuss it at the next board meeting."
That same phrase again.
Lin Xiaolu hovered behind Jiang Yan, anxiously pacing back and forth. Her semi-transparent hand kept passing through Jiang Yan's shoulder as she shouted in his ear, "He's stalling. He doesn't really want to do this. This is just a delaying tactic. Once the Fair Trade Commission's storm has passed, this matter will definitely be forgotten."
"I know."
Jiang Yan calmly replied to her in his heart, his gaze slowly sweeping across the entire room.
He saw the cold smile that reappeared on Kim Sung-hoon's lips, saw the unconscious hesitation in Kim Young-min's fingers as he pushed up his glasses, and saw Chief Justice Choi of the Ministry of Justice pick up a pen and casually scribble a couple of lines on his notebook, clearly not taking the matter to heart at all.
Chief lawyer Park Jung-woo adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and continued flipping through the documents in his hands.
He also saw the unfathomable depths in Lee Soo-man's eyes behind his glasses.
This godfather-like figure's attitude from beginning to end was that he had heard it, his stance was that it was worth considering, and his words were that they would be discussed later.
He did not reject any of Jiang Yan's offers.
But he didn't agree to anything.
Everything was postponed until a solution was developed.
The choice of songs "Rookie" and "Lotto" was because Kenzie had already given his approval, and he was just doing him a favor.
He said he had read the risk assessment report, and he said the direction was right for the review team. He nodded in approval for everything, but he didn't give a clear timeline or assign responsibility for anything.
He used the gentlest tone to temporarily suppress all the sharp conflicts.
He wanted to avoid offending the production department that held the Golden Melody Award and the artist groups that were eager to make a move, while also not embarrassing Kim Sung-hoon, who had been with him for many years.
Once the hype dies down, all the proposals will be shelved, as if they had never been brought up at all.
He has mastered the art of delaying to an unparalleled degree.