EXO's Xiumin, Baekhyun, And Chen File To Terminate Their Exclusive Contracts With SM Entertainment

EXO's Xiumin, Baekhyun, and Chen have notified SM Entertainment regarding the termination of their exclusive contracts.

Lawyer Lee Jae Hak from law firm Lin delivered an official statement on June 1. He stated, "Since March 21 until recently, the three members sent certification of contents a total of seven times, and through this, they requested a copy of a transparent settlement report and basis for settlement." According to their legal representative, after SM Entertainment signed long-term contracts with the artists spanning over 12-13 years in the past, they've pushed for the artists to carry out subsequent exclusive contracts once again, resulting in binding agreements that are valid for at least 17 or 18 years, if not more. Lawyer Jae Hak added, "This is SM committing unjust use of power against its artists once again."

Reporter Choi published the full statement which was translated by Soompi, and there is a special section dedicated to EXOL-s: 

Words to fans

1. We apologize for causing great concern to fans through this issue, and there is no way to fully express our apology.
2. Although legal action is inevitable due to a difference in our position with SM, we will do our best to find a wise way to resolve this dispute so that we do not cause fans too much concern.
3. As we try to speak up with our small voices regarding the unfairness we couldn’t speak of until now, we are actually very frightened and fearful of this moment right now.
4. We hope that you take interest in what we are saying as well as our difficult courage. We once again sincerely thank our fans who have supported us for a long time.

Xiumin, Baekhyun, and Chen made their debut with EXO in April 2012. Aside from debuting as soloists, together the trio formed EXO's first sub-unit EXO-CBX, debuted with their first EP Hey Mama! in October 2016. They released their debut Japanese mini album, Girls, in May 2017. In April 2018, the group dropped their second Korean mini album Blooming Days, followed by their first Japanese studio album Magic in May 2018.