Kim Hyun Joong and his entertainment company, Key East, managed to retract the ban on one of his tracks, “Please“.
The song, which was a part of his “Break Down” solo album, had been banned by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (“MOGEF“) for being “harmful media to the youth”.
In it’s overturning decision, the courts proclaimed that “In books, movies, and dramas permitted for teenage viewing, there are often scenes of drinking and smoking to quell sadness. In the interest of maintaining freedom of speech, it must also be allowed in popular music. It cannot be assumed that just because it is there, it promotes drinking or smoking.”
The MOGEF had banned the song earlier in the year for lyrics such as “Through the expanding cigarette smoke” and “Because I’m drunk”.
The court struck down MOGEF’s reasoning, saying, “Taking the lyrics in context of the entire song, the phrases are just a way to express the horrible emotions after breaking up with a lover, not encouraging drinking or smoking.”
