EXO-CBX, SM Entertainment fail to settle in first court mediation over contract dispute

EXO's Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin, collectively known as EXO-CBX, and SM Entertainment failed to settle in the first mediation over the contract dispute.

The Korea Herald reported that EXO-CBX and SM Entertainment did not reach an agreement in their 600 million KRW (P24.6 million) contract dispute during the first court mediation held on Tuesday, Sept. 23, at Seoul Eastern District Court.

Per the outlet, SM Entertainment maintained that the exclusive contracts are still valid and must be followed, emphasizing that CBX had agreed to give 10% of their income from solo activities.

On the other hand, CBX argued that SM Entertainment didn’t provide accurate financial records and broke its promise to apply a 5.5% distribution fee on its album and music sales.

The closed-door proceedings lasted about 30 minutes, attended only by their respective legal representatives. The second mediation is set for October.

Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin filed for the termination of their contracts with SM Entertainment in June 2023, citing issues with transparency regarding their earnings and unfair “slave contracts.” 

A year later, the trio announced that they were taking legal action against their former label. During their press conference, they called out SM Entertainment for demanding a 10% share of their revenue, all while failing to fulfill their promise of a 5.5% distribution fee. 

They shared that they proposed an agreement instead of paying the agency’s music, assets, and name, but the latter did not give any response to their attempts to negotiate. 

For their part, SM Entertainment said that they would be suing the trio. The company also denied the allegations at the time, saying that EXO-CBX members “personally signed the agreement to pay 10% of the revenue from their independent business.” 

The trio debuted as a sub-unit in 2016. Some of their songs include The One, Paper Cuts, and Blooming Day, among others.

They are now under the independent agency INB100, founded by Baekhyun.