On June 1 KST, Law Firm LIN, representing EXO members Baekhyun, Xiumin, and Chen, announced that an exclusive contract termination notice has been sent to SM Entertainment on behalf of the three artists.
According to LIN, the three EXO members have submitted a total of 7 requests for documents detailing the earnings and payments of all three artists from March through May.
Believing that there were problematic aspects of their earnings, Baekhyun, Xiumin, and Chen chose to request clear and transparent records of the company’s earning calculations, a fundamental right as artists; however, SM Entertainment allegedly claimed that company could not reveal the information to the artists.
Furthermore, LIN stated that SM Entertainment forced its artists to sign lengthy exclusive contracts totaling 12-13 years, then recently demanded that artist renew their contracts prematurely as to extend the contracts to at least 17-18 years. The artists believe that by exercising its power and status as a major entertainment agency, SM Entertainment continues to subject its artists to unfair “slave contracts”, violating existing laws surrounding exclusive contracts in the entertainment industry. The artists have thus decided to pursue legal action over SM Entertainment’s “slave contracts” as to act as spokespersons for many other artists under the agency who are under similarly binding contracts.
This is a developing situation. Stay tuned for updates.
