ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Entertainment devider Music and Concerts devider EXO's Chen, Baekhyun, Xiumin committed to pay agency

EXO's Chen, Baekhyun, Xiumin committed to pay agency

Published Oct 31, 2025 02:43 pm
EXO-CBX's Baekhyun, Xiumin and Chen (X)
EXO-CBX's Baekhyun, Xiumin and Chen (X)

EXO members Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin, who also belong to the subunit EXO-CBX, said they are committed to paying 10 percent to SM Entertainment as stipulated in their contract. 

Through NB100, the trio’s agency for their individual activities, the three K-pop stars issued a new statement to answer the statement of SM Entertainment, their agency for their group activities under EXO. 

The three singers and SM Entertainment are embroiled in a court case over contract and payment. 

Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin were excluded from EXO’s comeback when SM Entertainment announced the group’s fan meeting in December and release of a new album in 2026. 

Following the announcement, the three issued a statement to say that they wanted to be part of EXO’s comeback. 

SM Entertainment answered EXO-CBX’s statement, saying, “We have clearly stated to the three that the agreement to end the dispute and team activities are separate matters.”

“First, regarding the settlement of the dispute, we have won all disputes to date. Our only request to the three was payment of 10 percent of their individual activity revenue as stipulated in the existing agreement dated June 18, 2023. However, this has not yet been fulfilled,” the agency said. 

EXO-CBX's Xiumin, Baekhyun and Chen (X)
EXO-CBX's Xiumin, Baekhyun and Chen (X)

In response, INB100 issued another statement. 

Regarding the 10 percent SM Entertainment is demanding from the three singers’ individual activities, INB100 said, “EXO-CBX remains committed to paying 10 percent of their sales, and as the lawsuit is currently ongoing, they plan to fulfill their obligations as soon as an agreement is reached and legal proceedings are concluded.”

The mediation hearings regarding the SM Entertainment-EXO-CBX case failed. 

On SM Entertainment’s statement that “it was only natural that the three members should first honor the existing agreement and make sincere efforts to restore trust,” NB100 said, “All negotiations were conducted on the premise of ‘EXO's full group activities.’ CBX has clearly expressed its intention to honor the existing agreement, has been communicating directly with the members, and has strived to remain as part of the team.

SM Entertainment previously said that “contrary to their statement that they had clearly communicated their intention to reach an agreement and accepted all of the terms proposed by the company after the second mediation date on October 2, the three first filed an objection on October 16. We cannot help but express deep regret at the three sides' announcement today, which distorts the facts about the circumstances.” 

NB100 said, “EXO-CBX had communicated their intention to pay 10  percent of individual activity sales to SM around the court mediation date and were awaiting a final response. However, the amount proposed by the mediation committee on October 2 was an arbitrary calculation unrelated to the agreement between the two parties, and both companies stated at the mediation hearing that they could not accept it. After the amount was delivered in writing, both parties filed an objection on October 16. This was simply a measure taken in accordance with routine procedures, and the claim that EXO-CBX had no intention of reaching an agreement is false.”

“We sincerely apologize to fans who may have felt confusion and concern during the legal proceedings with SM Entertainment. EXO-CBX will faithfully fulfill the existing agreement and do their best to restore trust with the members and achieve smooth negotiations with SM Entertainment,” NB100 said. 

The conflict between EXO-CBX and SM Entertainment started on June 1, 2023 when Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin, through their lawyers, informed SM Entertainment of their intention to terminate their exclusive contracts. 

EXO-CBX accused SM Entertainment of violating the mandated seven-year contract and that it ignored requests for data on payment.

ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.