EXO’s Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin have announced their plans to sue SM Entertainment over unfair profit distribution.
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Earlier this week, the three EXO members—who recently signed with Baekhyun’s new label INB100 for their individual activities—held a press conference in which they complained that SM Entertainment had not kept their promise of a 5.5 percent music distribution fee for INB100. They also claimed that SM Entertainment demanding 10 percent of their revenue from individual activities was unfair.
In response, SM Entertainment asserted that because Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin (hereafter referred to as “CBX”) had prematurely ended their exclusive contracts with the agency, they had personally signed an agreement stipulating that they would pay SM Entertainment 10 percent of their revenue from individual activities in exchange for terminating their contracts early. The agency also stated that there had been no clause in their final agreement about a distribution fee, because SM Entertainment did not have the power to decide what the fee would be.
Following the release of several additional statements by CBX, SM Entertainment announced on June 13 that they would be taking legal action against the trio to enforce the fulfillment of their contracts.
On June 14, Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin released a new statement announcing that they would be suing SM Entertainment over profit distribution—and also apologizing to their fans.
The trio’s full statement is as follows:
CBX’s position regarding the lawsuit filed by SM and our legal response is as follows.
1. SM’s response was a lawsuit.
On June 12, SM filed a lawsuit against us.
At our press conference on June 10, we criticized SM for demanding 10 percent of our revenue while not fulfilling their promise of a 5.5 percent distribution fee.
And we asked once again what SM’s position was regarding our criticism. Additionally, at that press conference, we actively proposed an agreement of paying a fee for SM’s music, assets, and name instead of 10 percent of our revenue, but SM ignored this proposal.
In the end, SM did not make any reply to our attempts at negotiation, and they immediately drew the mighty sword of legal action.
2. We will do our utmost.
As SM has filed a lawsuit first, we will actively participate by revealing everything, including our negotiations from last year.
Additionally, regarding the distribution of profits that we had always doubted, we will file a lawsuit against SM over the distribution of profits. Through this lawsuit, we will assert our just rights by receiving accounting and profit-distribution data as decided by the law and our exclusive contracts. We will also reveal to the court that SM’s profit-distribution system is wrong.
Also, through our complaint to the Fair Trade Commission regarding the unfairness of our exclusive contracts, we will receive a proper judgment from the law.
3. A message to our fans
To our fans who always send us love and support and should only receive joy [in return], we feel truly sorry for bringing you anxiety and disappointment due to the same issue as last year.
In the future, we will minimize releasing official statements, and we will try to resolve this situation quickly.
Also, we promise to remain a Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin who can forever be together with you through the precious memories we’ve made with you all.
Thank you for taking the time to read this long statement. We apologize for once again making you feel unnecessary emotions.
