"SM Demands 10% of Individual Earnings"... EXO Chenbaekxi Holds Emergency Press Conference Today

Conflict 'Reignited' One Year After Agreement with SM

Last year, Chenbaekxi (Baekhyun, Xiumin, Chen) of the group EXO, who had agreed to maintain an exclusive contract with SM Entertainment, is holding an emergency press conference one year after the agreement. At this event, they plan to claim SM's unfair treatment and raise issues related to profit distribution.

Chen Baekxi.
[Photo by SM Entertainment]

On the 10th, I&N B100, the agency representing Chenbaekxi, stated, "SM is ignoring the negotiation terms that were the premise of the agreement and is demanding that Chenbaekxi's agency pay '10% of the artist's individual activity revenue.'"

The agency announced that it would hold a press conference at a hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, in the afternoon to expose SM's unfair treatment. The press conference will be attended by Cha Gawon, chairman of PIAK, Kim Dongjun, CEO of I&N B100, and lawyer Lee Jaehak.

Previously, in June last year, Chenbaekxi notified SM of the termination of their exclusive contract, citing issues such as opaque settlements, and filed a complaint against SM with the Fair Trade Commission. Subsequently, both parties agreed to maintain the exclusive contract with SM while Chenbaekxi's individual activities would be independently managed by I&N B100.

I&N B100 stated, "In June last year, Chenbaekxi and SM jointly issued a statement to amicably conclude the legal actions including the termination of the exclusive contract and the complaint to the Fair Trade Commission," adding, "At that time, both sides resolved the situation through negotiation, believing that EXO's normal activities were of utmost importance."

However, one year after the agreement, as Chenbaekxi claims SM's demands are unfair, conflicts between the two sides are escalating again.

I&N B100 added, "We sent a certified letter regarding the unfairness, but SM has not responded for over two months," and "We will publicize the issue through the press conference."

The conflict between Chenbaekxi and SM began in June last year. At that time, Chenbaekxi notified SM of the termination of the exclusive contract, alleging that they were forced into an unfair long-term contract and even claimed it was a 'slave contract.' Chenbaekxi's side stated that they received a contract renewal document from SM extending the existing contract by five years and said, "Although we considered it unfair, due to continuous persuasion and an atmosphere that made refusal difficult, we reluctantly signed it."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.