On June 1, 2023, SM Entertainment released another statement detailing their contracts and rebuffing the claims made by EXO’s Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin. The explanation arrived on the heels of arguably the most shocking news in the K-pop industry when the three veteran K-pop idols announced a lawsuit against the agency through their legal representatives on the same day.Lawyers for Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin made statements claiming that the agency was trying to push a nearly 17-18 years “slave” contract and had repeatedly refused to provide transparency of their payments and shares over the years._61bbh 'ㅅ'@sbbbh61From EXO Baekhyun Chen and Xiumin lawyer teamCBX decided to sue because- SM can't provide statement of the earnings even they asked for 7th times- SM provided slave contract more than 10 years ( Xiumin and Chen have more years as they are initially part of EXO-M)45391863From EXO Baekhyun Chen and Xiumin lawyer teamCBX decided to sue because- SM can't provide statement of the earnings even they asked for 7th times- SM provided slave contract more than 10 years ( Xiumin and Chen have more years as they are initially part of EXO-M) https://t.co/7QMbnsPt9ySM Entertainment released a lengthy statement detailing and refuting the claims made by EXO-CBX, the sub-unit consisting of Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin. They stated that they provided the three singers with their payment process, talked about their exclusive contracts being “recognized for its validity and legitimacy by the Supreme Court” in a past SM artist’s ruling, and added that the current contract was created after long discussions with the trio’s lawyers.SM Entertainment bounces back in a detailed statement to rebuff the claims made by EXO’s Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin_61bbh 'ㅅ'@sbbbh61SM official statement stated it's not true that Baekhyun, Xiumin and Chen contract had come to an end with SM, On 2022 December, 7 members of EXO had signed a contract with SM and EXO even asked for a big firm lawyer with them and they had discussion around 8 times39961712SM official statement stated it's not true that Baekhyun, Xiumin and Chen contract had come to an end with SM, On 2022 December, 7 members of EXO had signed a contract with SM and EXO even asked for a big firm lawyer with them and they had discussion around 8 times https://t.co/IXkIzM13eGOn June 1, 2023, Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin of EXO announced legal action against their agency, SM Entertainment, and requested to terminate their contracts. The news shocked the K-pop industry, especially the SM artists’ fandoms, as the theree singers were scheduled to have a full group comeback in the coming months. However, they first bore witness to Kai’s enlistment, which ultimately meant that it would not be a full group music releaseThings turned worse after EXO-CBX accused SM Entertainment of not providing them transparent payment reports despite being with them for over a decade. The trio also called out the allegedly new contract as an unreasonable binding time that the agency was enforcing upon them.To refute all the claims, the agency made a detailed statement giving explanations for each of the claims. SM Entertainment stated that they increased the EXO members’ salary rates twice during the current contract and that all the members were on equal footing with the agency when signing it.1) Transparent payoutsEXO's agency, SM Entertainment, stated that claims of them not providing accounting data were false. They added that the artists can easily “view” their accounting data, and the artists had no issues previously with their set monthly payment process.In addition, SM Entertainment mentioned that they received tip-offs of other agencies or external forces poaching them, which is why they denied giving them duplicate copies of the data for fear of unfair damage._61bbh 'ㅅ'@sbbbh61It's hard for artists to sue big company esp SM who always stop artists that against them in Korea. As EXO lawyer stated the 8 point + CBX statement mentioned they are scare you know they take a big step for them and the other artists. Pls give them the justice. twitter.com/sbbbh61/status…_61bbh 'ㅅ'@sbbbh61So now obviously SM didn't want EXO to go they know the value ( but they didn't treat them right lmao ) and their statement just keep mention EXO still with them and they don't have conficlt ( while CBX ald send out their legal statement ? Sm still lie )956451So now obviously SM didn't want EXO to go they know the value ( but they didn't treat them right lmao ) and their statement just keep mention EXO still with them and they don't have conficlt ( while CBX ald send out their legal statement ? Sm still lie )It's hard for artists to sue big company esp SM who always stop artists that against them in Korea. As EXO lawyer stated the 8 point + CBX statement mentioned they are scare you know they take a big step for them and the other artists. Pls give them the justice. twitter.com/sbbbh61/status… https://t.co/HGKREacifJThe agency added that they asked the legal representatives whether Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin had signed a double contract (with another agency) or were in discussions for the same. However, the trio did not reply and continued to say that they will terminate the contract since the agency wasn’t providing them duplicate copies of the data.2) The exclusive contract legitimacySM Entertainment stated that their contracts adhere to the “standard exclusive contract” recommended by the Fair Trade Commission and the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. This was further legitimized when the Supreme Court recognized its validity during the lawsuit filed by Huang Zitao (aka Tao), a former member of EXO.쉰花 ❄️@xunhuas“In fact, it is very difficult for Baekhyun, Xiumin, & Chen to file a legal lawsuit against a large enterprise like SM, but they undertook it with the thought & courage that this is also for [clarifying] various doubts that many SM artists have”So proud of CBX & their bravery🏻107225262“In fact, it is very difficult for Baekhyun, Xiumin, & Chen to file a legal lawsuit against a large enterprise like SM, but they undertook it with the thought & courage that this is also for [clarifying] various doubts that many SM artists have”So proud of CBX & their bravery👏🏻 https://t.co/T4M7KESnnfThe agency added that they have been open to their artists discussing contracts with other agencies by mentioning Girls’ Generation and f(x). They stated that former girl group’s members, despite some being with a different agency, participated in SM Family activities such as the SMTOWN concert. They also mentioned that second-generation artists such as TVXQ and Super Junior have also renewed their contract multiple times.3) Regarding EXO’s current contractSM Entertainment clarified that the EXO members had access to large-scale law firm lawyers, and the current contract was made with mutual agreements. They stated that the artists and the agency were in a lengthy period of discussion about the contract, which spanned from June 2021 to the end of 2022. SM Entertainment added that seven members of EXO renewed their contracts on December 30, 2022.The agency further stated that they had exchanged and amended the contracts eight times in a month as requested by the artists’ legal representatives. However, the agency now believes that their tip-off was correct as they received a sudden notice about the contracts’ validity claimed by Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin’s recently appointed representatives.𝚊 𝚢 𝚊 ♡ 𝚜 𝚞 𝚙 𝚎 𝚛 𝚜 𝚑 𝚒 𝚗 𝚎 𝚎@sjsofabulousEXO CBX is purely against SM due to slave contract > SM blamed BPM for exo legal issues > BPM stated that MC Mong only share his thoughts as a friendThey are going to blame each other 🤦🏻‍♀️ twitter.com/balloon_wanted…파룬@balloon_wantedSportsSeoul shares statement from BPM (Big Planet Made) who have denied any involvement in the recent EXO-CBX legal issuesBPM state MC Mong only met the members in a non-working capacity (as friends), and that he is not an internal directorv.daum.net/v/202306011131…73SportsSeoul shares statement from BPM (Big Planet Made) who have denied any involvement in the recent EXO-CBX legal issuesBPM state MC Mong only met the members in a non-working capacity (as friends), and that he is not an internal directorv.daum.net/v/202306011131…EXO CBX is purely against SM due to slave contract > SM blamed BPM for exo legal issues > BPM stated that MC Mong only share his thoughts as a friendThey are going to blame each other 🤦🏻‍♀️ twitter.com/balloon_wanted… https://t.co/F1FNQPNgotTowards the end of the statement, SM Entertainment stated that they will take strong legal action to protect EXO and their fans from external forces that are trying “to shake and break up the team.”GLOBALMYEON@globalmyeon[OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM SM]11[OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM SM] https://t.co/KmR0FkgcfIMeanwhile, SM Entertainment claimed that the “external forces” was the entertainment company Big Planet Made or BPM. The company later denied the accusations, saying that MC Mong was not a part of BPM any longer. It also said that MC Mong only met up with his juniors as friends and had no intention of recruiting them.