K-pop contracts are always a tricky matter to deal with, and EXO Baekhyun, Xiumin and Chen are possibly starting a new conversation around SM Entertainment. Fans of the group have faced numerous letdowns from the label in terms of protecting the group’s interests and many other factors in the past too. However, headlines related to contract terminations are always a heavy blow to come to terms with, and the same was witnessed by EXO-Ls on June 1, 2023, when the trio, also known as EXO CBX collectively, announced the termination of their exclusive contracts with SM. But, that’s not all.
Known as the first sub-unit of EXO, the trio has also filed a lawsuit against the label. As of June 1, the three have informed SM of their mutual decision through their legal representative Lee Jae-hak in a statement that expounds the unfair treatment they’ve been met with during the duration of their long-term contracts with the company.
So, why have the members filed a lawsuit against the label? And what all injustices have been highlighted in the statement so released? Here’s what we know.
Issues Raised by EXO Baekhyun, Xiumin and Chen Against SM
Pointing out the “unfair act of aggression” from SM’s end, the trio’s lawyer harked back to the seven requests made by his clients (starting March 21 until now), asking for the copies of “transparent settlement reports and settlement grounds”. However, despite the repeated efforts made by the artists, they haven’t heard back from SM even though it forms the bare minimum criteria for their settlements in question to be made transparent to them.
SM stayed firm in not providing them with any cohesive response, thus, leading the members to believe that the company has been using its superior stance in making them sign long-term contracts, thereby enacting the unjust use of their powers.
Initially the members had been compelled by the company to sign contracts that spanned over 12 to 13 years. After that, they were again pushed by the company to sign exclusive contracts that spanned even more than the initial period, extending it to a span of 17 or even more years.
The initial length of the contract term went past the standard 7-year contract recommended by the government, but even when the artists exercised their right to ask for proper documentation of the the settlements in questions, they never heard back anything from the officials. The so-called “slave contracts” have now pushed the artists to take their stand, which is similar what the former members of the band did before, and it extends a bigger question of instability to not just EXO, but other groups and artists signed under SM at the moment.
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Moreover, the similarities of this lawsuit has reminded the fans of the one filed by the former TVXQ members – Kim Jae-joong, Park Yoo-chun and Kim Jun-su – against SM as well.
While the future of the three artists in the company remains uncertain right now, they’ve extended an apology to their fans in the same statement. Claiming that though there’s now way to fully express their sentiments, they’re equally frightened to finally raise their voices against the label, and fear the ultimate outcome in the future. Nevertheless, with the growing differences between their opinions and that of SM, legal action was inevitable.