On May 23 KST, the Supreme Court formally dismissed an appeal filed by Kim Kyung Wook, former CEO of SM Entertainment, who previously sued the concert planning company Salt Innovation for the use of the team name H.O.T immediately before the 1st generation idol group's reunion concert in 2018.

At the time, Kim Kyung Wook claimed that he owned the trademark to the team name H.O.T and demanded royalty payments for any use of the name in events and marketing materials. As a result, H.O.T's reunion concert proceeded using the name High Five of Teenagers instead of the team's official name.

The initial court ruling determined that Kim Kyung Wook's trademark rights had been nullified, and that the plaintiff had little evidence to support his claim over the team name trademark. Kim Kyung Wook then appealed the case to the Supreme Court.

Now, based on the Supreme Court's dismissal of the appeal case, Salt Innovation and H.O.T have earned complete freedom to use the team name for events and marketing as of May 23 KST.