Popular subunit EXO-CBX members Baekhyun, Xiumin, and Chen, from the South Korean boy group EXO, have intensified their conflict with SM Entertainment due to contract disputes following their departure from the agency. On the 26th, Korean media reported that the three members’ current management company, INB100, has filed a lawsuit against two top executives of SM Entertainment for alleged fraud.
According to the report by Korean media outlet “NEWSIS” on the 26th, EXO-CBX’s management company, INB100, submitted a complaint to the Seoul Dongdaemun Police Station on the previous day (25th) against SM Entertainment’s CEO Lee Seong Soo and the company’s co-representative Joo Yong Jun under the pretext of “violating specific economic crime laws (fraud).”
The management company of EXO-CBX stated that during the contract renewal and dispute with CBX last year, SM Entertainment falsely promised to guarantee a 5.5% share of the music source and album circulation fees. Typically, new companies need to pay over 15% of album sales as fees for issuing albums, but SM Entertainment offered the 5.5% incentive to resolve the contract dispute, only to fail to fulfill the commitment and force CBX members to sign an inappropriate contract to pay 10% of individual activity sales.
Following the emergence of the contract dispute between the two sides, SM Entertainment had previously resorted to legal action to demand CBX to fulfill the contract.
Upon the revelation of CBX accusing senior executives of SM Entertainment of fraud today, various Korean media outlets have reported this news under the headline “conflict intensifies,” causing worry among fans of EXO about the members’ future activities.