EXO’s Baekhyun, Xiumin and Chen are set to terminate their contracts with SM Entertainment.
In a statement released by their legal representative on 1 June, the three accused the agency of refusing to provide documents for the sake of transparency regarding their settlements.
“From March 21st to the present, we sent a certification of contents to SM Entertainment seven times, and through this, we repeatedly requested copies of transparent settlement data and settlement grounds. However, SM was unable to provide copies of the data, stating that such data cannot be shared,” said their attorney Lee Jae-Hak.
Lee continued, “We have come to inform SM that we are terminating our existing exclusive contracts as of today, June 1st. SM is trying to claim a contract period of at least 17 or 18 years, respectively, by having the artists sign on subsequent exclusive contracts, as the 12 or 13 year contract period is not enough. It is an extremely unfair tyranny over and over again.”
It is noted that the standard contract period for idol groups are usually seven years, with the artists having the right to terminate if it surpasses the said period.
Baekhyun, Xiumin and Chen are three of the nine-member EXO, which made their debut under SM Entertainment in 2012.
