Three members of the EXO boy group namely Baekhyun, Xiumin, and Chen announced that they had terminated their contract with the SM Entertainment agency. They delivered an official statement through legal representative and attorney Lee Jae Hak of law firm Lin on June 1, 2023.
According to Lin's law firm, the EXO members belonging to the EXO-CBX sub-unit have filed 7 requests for documents detailing their income and payments from March to May. "The artists have sent several requests for the disclosure of transparent settlement data and supporting evidence to SM Entertainment seven times, from March 21 to the present, through their legal representatives," said lawyer Lee Jae Hak as quoted by KBIZoom on Thursday June 1, 2023.
He continued, "They demanded transparent settlement data and supporting evidence, which is the minimum legal request, based on the exclusive contract and the Cultural Industry Development Act. However, SM has consistently maintained an unfair position by refusing to provide copies of the requested documents. "
Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin felt that SM Entertainment was using their position as a large agency to force their artists to sign contracts that were considered "slave contracts" for long periods of time, namely 12-13 years. Recently, they were sued to renew their contracts to 17-18 years.
They continued to engage in bullying behavior and refused to provide the required documents. Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin considered SM Entertainment to have violated the law regarding contracts in the entertainment industry. Therefore, they decided to take legal action as well as being a spokesperson for many other artists who suffered the same fate.
This very sudden news shocked many parties, especially EXO-L, the name for EXO fans. " It's better if EXO leaves SM. They have to stand on their own like what Shinhwa is doing now, " wrote one fan. " I'm worried and confused. Is this good news? Hopefully this is good news, " said another fan. " I've never seen any contract that has a term of 17-18 years.
That's an insane length of time, " chimed in another fan. " History is repeating itself. Looks like SM still hasn't cleaned up their actions with unfair contracts. It's a shame because their artists are very talented and hardworking, " said another fan. Until now, there has been no further statement regarding this news. SM Entertainment has yet to give their official statement.
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