EXO’s leader Suho said he was “shocked and disappointed” with the rift. (Photo Credits: Instagram)
The three members of EXO-CBX— Byun Baekhyun, Xiumin and Chen took legal action against their former agency SM Entertainment.
The ongoing dispute between popular boy band EXO-CBX’s members Byun Baekhyun, Kim Min-Seok (A.K.A. Xiumin) and Kim Jong-Dae (A.K.A. Chen) with their former agency, SM Entertainment has been making waves in the K-pop world. However, amidst the flurry of headlines and speculations, the leader of EXO, Suho has stepped forward to shed light on the situation. As per a report in Koreaboo, Suho revealed that he learned about the feud through new reports, leaving him both shocked and disappointed.
“The other members and myself found out about the press conference and their feud through news reports. We were shocked and really disappointed. EXO fans were hurt from something similar last year and therefore I wanted to tell the fans how sorry I was,” Suho said.
On June 10, 2024, INB100 made headlines after announcing a press conference to unveil to what they termed as unfair practices by SM Entertainment. Baekhyun’s label INB100 manages EXO members’ activities per agreement terms. The trio announced their decision to take legal action against SM Entertainment. They have accused the agency of “abuse of superior bargaining position.”
At a press conference earlier this month, Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin expressed their disappointment claiming that SM Entertainment had allegedly failed to uphold their end of the agreement by not honouring their 5.5 per cent music distribution fee for INB100. They also criticised SM’s purported demand for 10 per cent of their individual earrings.
In a swift rebuttal, SM Entertainment countered the allegations asserting that the members terminated their exclusive contracts prematurely. The agency further revealed that the agreement had been reached wherein they would pay 10 per cent of their earnings to the agency. SM clarified that there was no prior agreement specifying a music distribution fee.
Despite EXO’s efforts to negotiate a more favourable arrangement, SM Entertainment took the decisive step of filing a lawsuit against them on June 12. Following SM’s legal action, EXO wasted no time in announcing its legal action against the agency the following day.
In their official statement, EXO outlined their primary objectives for initiating legal proceedings against SM Entertainment. Their focus was on ensuring fair profit distribution and transparency to expose what they deemed as flaws in SM Entertainment’s profit-sharing practices.
Meanwhile, Suho also updated fans regarding the highly anticipated album featuring all EXO members.
“SM Entertainment was planning on a winter album and an album featuring all of the members once Kai and Sehoon returned from the military. I hope that it still happens so that we can repay fans with music. I am concerned, however, as I am not the decision-maker,” he said.
