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K-pop group EXO-CBX, SM Entertainment reach amicable settlement over 'slave contract' issue
Entertainment
Celebrities
K-pop group EXO-CBX, SM Entertainment reach amicable settlement over 'slave contract' issue
K-pop group EXO-CBX, SM Entertainment reach amicable settlement over 'slave contract' issue
Published Jun 19, 2023 04:44 am
The legal dispute between K-pop group EXO members Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin, and their agency, SM Entertainment, has ended with both parties reaching an amicable settlement over issues including the so-called “slave contracts” and refusal of the company to provide copies of financial matters.
Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin, also known as the subunit CBX, earlier filed a complaint against SM Entertainment with Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) regarding their long-term contracts, branded as “slave contracts.”
(From left) EXO-CBX's Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin (Twitter)
They asked the FTC to investigate not only their contracts but also the contracts of other SM Entertainment artists. They also accused SM Entertainment of refusing to provide them copies of their financial settlement despite repeated requests. On June 19, SM Entertainment issued a statement to say that the agency and the three artists have resolved their difference and reached an amicable settlement. “Recently, there was a situation in which the company and three of our artists [Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin] continued to openly raise issues from different positions. In this regard, we and the three artists sincerely apologize for causing concern to many people who support EXO,” SM Entertainment said. It added, “Afterwards, the company and the three artists had enough time to discuss all issues candidly. We are pleased to inform you that through this, we were able to resolve differences of opinion caused by misunderstandings and reach a mutually amicable agreement.” “First, our company and the three artists decided to recognize and maintain the artist contract relationship and to carry out EXO activities more actively and continuously through some consultations and modifications,” it said. SM Entertainment said that “we listened to and understood the thoughts of all three artists, and also conveyed our position on them in detail. The three artists were also open-minded and understood our position regarding artist contracts.” “Accordingly, the company and the three artists promised to further solidify their relationship in the future by going through a process of mutually equal discussions and modifications. In addition, we decided to cheer and support each of the three artists so that they can fully demonstrate their individuality and promote in a new way,” it said. SM Entertainment also apologized to the so-called third parties, which it earlier accused of trying to poach the three EXO members. The agency earlier identified them as BPM Entertainment and MC Mong. “Second, I would like to say that there was a misunderstanding about the intervention of third parties. We initially received a report that a third outside force was approaching the three artists with unreasonable intentions, and we have stated that this was the main cause of the dispute.” It said, “However, through this discussion, we learned that there was a misunderstanding about the involvement of third parties. We would like to take this opportunity to apologize to those concerned for causing concern with our announcement.” “We and the three artists would like to express our apologies to the fans, EXO members other than the three, and those who trusted and waited for EXO, and we will do our best to repay the support of the many people who supported us,” SM Entertainment said. It added, “Lastly, through this incident, we were able to think about the direction of our growth following the launch of SM 3.0, from the individual concerns of the artists.” “Thanks to the fans' support, we want to draw the future of SM 3.0, which has grown and matured. Under the changed and developed new banner of SM 3.0, we will further strengthen and solidify mutual cooperation and respect with our artists,” it said.
(From left) EXO-CBX's Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin (Twitter)
They asked the FTC to investigate not only their contracts but also the contracts of other SM Entertainment artists. They also accused SM Entertainment of refusing to provide them copies of their financial settlement despite repeated requests. On June 19, SM Entertainment issued a statement to say that the agency and the three artists have resolved their difference and reached an amicable settlement. “Recently, there was a situation in which the company and three of our artists [Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin] continued to openly raise issues from different positions. In this regard, we and the three artists sincerely apologize for causing concern to many people who support EXO,” SM Entertainment said. It added, “Afterwards, the company and the three artists had enough time to discuss all issues candidly. We are pleased to inform you that through this, we were able to resolve differences of opinion caused by misunderstandings and reach a mutually amicable agreement.” “First, our company and the three artists decided to recognize and maintain the artist contract relationship and to carry out EXO activities more actively and continuously through some consultations and modifications,” it said. SM Entertainment said that “we listened to and understood the thoughts of all three artists, and also conveyed our position on them in detail. The three artists were also open-minded and understood our position regarding artist contracts.” “Accordingly, the company and the three artists promised to further solidify their relationship in the future by going through a process of mutually equal discussions and modifications. In addition, we decided to cheer and support each of the three artists so that they can fully demonstrate their individuality and promote in a new way,” it said. SM Entertainment also apologized to the so-called third parties, which it earlier accused of trying to poach the three EXO members. The agency earlier identified them as BPM Entertainment and MC Mong. “Second, I would like to say that there was a misunderstanding about the intervention of third parties. We initially received a report that a third outside force was approaching the three artists with unreasonable intentions, and we have stated that this was the main cause of the dispute.” It said, “However, through this discussion, we learned that there was a misunderstanding about the involvement of third parties. We would like to take this opportunity to apologize to those concerned for causing concern with our announcement.” “We and the three artists would like to express our apologies to the fans, EXO members other than the three, and those who trusted and waited for EXO, and we will do our best to repay the support of the many people who supported us,” SM Entertainment said. It added, “Lastly, through this incident, we were able to think about the direction of our growth following the launch of SM 3.0, from the individual concerns of the artists.” “Thanks to the fans' support, we want to draw the future of SM 3.0, which has grown and matured. Under the changed and developed new banner of SM 3.0, we will further strengthen and solidify mutual cooperation and respect with our artists,” it said.