EXO’s Baekhyun, Xiumin, And Chen Files Lawsuit Against SM Entertainment To Terminate ‘Slave Contracts'

Baekhyun, Xiumin, and Chen's attorneys at the Lin law firm informed SM Entertainment that their exclusive contracts will be terminated.

SM Entertainment claimed that "external forces" were contacting their artists.

New Delhi: The three members of the K-pop trio EXO want to break their exclusivity agreements with SM Entertainment. According to recent reports, Baekhyun, Xiumin, and Chen's attorneys at the Lin law firm informed SM Entertainment that their exclusive contracts will be terminated. The three EXO members have asked for records many times that show all three artists' payments and earnings from March through May.

Baekhyun, Xiumin, and Chen reportedly asked for "clear and transparent records" of the company's earnings, according to a report in All Kpop. But SM Entertainment allegedly refused to do so. SM Entertainment allegedly forced the singers to sign lengthy exclusive contracts spanning 12–13 years, according to the artists' attorneys. These have been referred to as "slave contracts" by the artists.

"We apologize for causing great concern to fans through this issue, and there is no way to fully express our apology. Although legal action is inevitable due to a difference in our position with SM, we will do our best to find a wise way to resolve this dispute so that we do not cause fans too much concern," the singers said in a message for their fans. 

“As we try to speak up with our small voices regarding the unfairness we couldn’t speak of until now, we are actually very frightened and fearful of this moment right now. We hope that you take interest in what we are saying as well as our difficult courage. We once again sincerely thank our fans who have supported us for a long time,” they said in their statement.

Meanwhile, SM Entertainment claimed that "external forces" were contacting their artists.

 "We have confirmed that external forces are approaching our artists (...) the outside forces don't really think about the artist at all, they are committing illegal acts that lure our artists to make wrong decisions and violate exclusive contracts (...) We will not sit on the movements of those who pursue the greed of money, and we will take all possible legal measures," they mentioned in a statement. 

EXO, a nine-member group, comprises Baekhyun, Xiumin, and Chen since 2012. Suho, Lay, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai, and Sehun are also a part of the group. Recently, Chanyeol put out a few pictures from Kai's farewell as he enlisted in the military to fulfill his mandatory service on his Instagram account.