SM Entertainment releases a statement saying Teddy Island failed to pay the modeling fees to NCT Dream

Earlier this year, NCT Dream made an announcement about their partnership with Teddy Island, a contemporary teddy bear character brand, where the group would serve as the brand's new models.

This news raised the anticipation of fans who eagerly awaited the release of various NCT Dream-themed products in collaboration with Teddy Island.

However, on October 30, SM Entertainment delivered surprising news regarding NCT Dream's collaboration with Teddy Island. 

According to the latest statement issued by the record label, Teddy Island has failed to fulfill their financial obligations related to the modeling fees accrued during the past year. SM Entertainment revealed that they had made multiple payment requests to Teddy Island, which went unanswered, ultimately resulting in the termination of the contract.

Moreover, SM Entertainment disclosed that Teddy Island had been utilizing numerous NCT Dream photos and unilaterally announced a pre-order event without prior consultation with SM Entertainment.

Consequently, in response to these developments, SM Entertainment took to social media to caution fans, emphasizing that neither SM Entertainment nor NCT Dream is associated with the ongoing events orchestrated by Teddy Island.

Below is the full statement released by SM Entertainment:

"Hello. This is SM Entertainment.

We would like to address the matter related to NCT Dream's recent activities as brand ambassadors for Teddy Island. In 2022, we entered into an advertising contract with Teddy Island and proceeded with the advertising filming for NCT Dream.

However, Teddy Island failed to fulfill the agreed-upon model appearance fees as stipulated in the advertising contract. Despite our repeated requests for the payment of these fees, Teddy Island continued to use the artists' images in advertising activities without making any payments.

The announcement of the fan sign event in May 2023 was carried out unilaterally without reaching a final agreement between our company and Teddy Island, making it impossible for us to proceed with the event. In response, in June 2023, we requested Teddy Island to immediately cease using the artists' images and advertising materials and notified the termination of the advertising contract to protect the artists and prevent confusion among the fans.

Despite these circumstances, Teddy Island has continued to display the artists' photos and unauthorized advertisements on their website and elsewhere. Furthermore, only after the termination of the advertising contract, they sent a partial payment of the model appearance fees and claimed that our company was in breach of the contract. 

Most recently, they announced a pre-order event for photo cards and merchandise using the artists' names and photos, without any discussion with our company. In order to prevent further harm to the artists and fans, our company promptly published a rebuttal notice regarding Teddy Island's pre-order event announcement on October 18, 2023.

Despite our efforts to resolve the issue amicably, including proposals for the resumption of the canceled fan sign event, Teddy Island has shifted responsibility for the termination of the advertising contract to our company and continued to make unreasonable demands. As a result, we can no longer continue negotiations with them.

We want to clarify that the events currently being announced and promoted by Teddy Island on their website have no affiliation with our company or NCT Dream. We ask fans to please be cautious to avoid any further harm."