MANILA, Philippines – EXO members Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin, collectively known as the EXO sub-unit EXO-CBX, announced on Friday, June 14, that they would be filing a case against SM Entertainment over the agency’s “unfair” profit distribution.
EXO's Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin are suing SM Entertainment over profit distribution after the trio signed with INB100, an independent label founded by Baekhyun, for individual activities.
— Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) June 14, 2024
This comes a day after SM filed a case against the three EXO members "to enforce the… pic.twitter.com/vrx6eBfPCW
On June 10, representatives from INB100, the agency that manages the trio’s unit and individual activities, held a press conference to state that SM Entertainment was allegedly collecting 10% of the artists’ profits from their solo activities rather than the agreed upon 5.5% commission rate, according to a translation from Soompi.
At the time of the press conference, the agency’s attorney Lee Jae-hak stated that they would “consider” filing a criminal complaint against SM Entertainment.
However, on Thursday, June 13, SM Entertainment proceeded with filing a lawsuit against the three EXO members to “enforce the fulfillment of their contracts,” the agency said in a statement, according to a Soompi translation.
This move prompted Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin to file their own lawsuit against SM Entertainment the next day, on June 14, stating that they would “reveal everything,” along with all they had negotiated in 2023.
“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,” Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin wrote in their statement, according to a Soompi report.
In the same statement, the K-pop artists also apologized to their fans for the “anxiety and disappointment” that was brought upon them as a result of the dispute.
“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,” the trio added.
In 2023, SM Entertainment, Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin, were also involved in another legal battle when the three members expressed their plans to terminate their exclusive contracts with the label, citing SM Entertainment’s refusal to furnish them with settlement reports.
The three members also sounded off on the “unjust” length of their exclusive contracts with SM Entertainment, which ranged from 12 to 13 years, contrary to the seven years set by the South Korean Fair Trade Commission for the Standard Exclusive Contract Form for Entertainers.
Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin are members of the K-pop group EXO, which debuted in 2012 under SM Entertainment. The members are part of the group’s first sub-unit, EXO-CBX, which began releasing music in 2016. All three members have since done solo releases.
INB100, founded by Baekhyun, began managing EXO-CBX’s unit and solo activities this year, while their activities under EXO remain managed by SM Entertainment. – Rappler.com