▲ EXO's ChenBaekXi is seen in this undated photo provided by Mnet. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

EXO members-SM-dispute

EXO's Baekhyun, Xiumin, Chen clash with SM over full-group comeback

SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Yonhap) -- Three members of K-pop boy band EXO -- Baekhyun, Xiumin and Chen -- are locked in a fresh dispute with their agency SM Entertainment over whether the trio may take part in the group's upcoming full-member comeback.

The trio, who are involved in a legal dispute against SM Entertainment, have publicly expressed their willingness to participate in EXO's full-group activities. However, SM says they cannot join until they fulfill the terms of a prior agreement.

"The ChenBaekXi members promised their fans full-group activities as part of EXO and are striving in every way to achieve this," the trio's private-project agency INB100 said in a statement Wednesday, reaffirming the members' intent to join the team's comeback. ChenBaekXi is the name of the three members' subunit project. "We plan to reach an agreement for full-group activities as early as possible," it added.

SM, however, issued a contrasting response.

"We have made it clear to the three members that the agreement on the termination of the dispute and group activities are separate issues. The one thing we required of the three members regarding the termination of the dispute was the payment of 10 percent of the revenue from their individual activities (to SM), but this has not yet been fulfilled," it said in a statement.

Earlier this week, SM announced that EXO plans to resume group activities at the end of the year as all members have completed their mandatory military service. It said the band will hold a meet-and-greet in December and release its eighth full-length album in the first half of next year -- but notably with only six members, excluding the trio currently engaged in litigation.

"Due to the excessive number of disputes, the trust between both sides has been greatly broken, and the damage caused to the team EXO, as well as the hurt given to the fans and members, has been significant," SM said. "It is proper that participation in team activities be preceded by the fulfillment of the existing agreement and genuine efforts from the three members to restore trust."

In 2023, the trio informed SM of their decision to let their exclusive management contracts expire, citing the agency's alleged failure to properly provide settlement data, and subsequently filed a complaint with the Fair Trade Commission. The parties later agreed to maintain the contracts for group projects but allow the three to manage their individual activities via INB100. SM, in turn, filed a lawsuit seeking the 10 percent revenue share, while the artists countersued for unpaid settlements.

The artists also filed a criminal complaint against SM executives for fraud and reported the agency to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for its alleged failure to provide settlement data. SM won several of these proceedings. Regarding the contract fulfillment and settlement lawsuits, the process returned to full litigation after a second mediation earlier this month failed.

INB100 said the trio had "conveyed their willingness to settle by accepting all of SM's proposed terms," adding that the members "sincerely wished to take part in EXO's full-group activities, which is why they chose the path of agreement."

SM disputed that claim, saying, "Contrary to the three members' statement that they clearly conveyed their intent to agree, they were the ones who first filed an objection on Oct. 16," and expressed "deep regret over this distortion of facts."

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