EXO-CBX to countersue SM Entertainment over payment issue

Logos of SM Entertainment and INB100 [EACH AGENCY]

Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin of boy band EXO will countersue the group's agency SM Entertainment and report it to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) in a countermeasure to the civil lawsuit filed by SM Entertainment earlier this week.

The three members — collectively known as EXO-CBX — said Friday that they will reveal "everything" related to the conflict that took place between SM Entertainment and the trio last year, especially regarding the payment method that the three singers took issue with.

EXO-CBX has been accusing SM Entertainment of mistreatment, unfair payment and refusing to provide a breakdown of the artists' payment history. The two parties went through a monthlong brawl last year in June when EXO-CBX demanded their contracts be terminated due to the aforementioned reasons and SM Entertainment accused them of being coaxed by executives at Big Planet Made.

EXO-CBX's agency INB100 is currently owned by Big Planet Made. INB100 manages the three members' solo activities and SM Entertainment manages their activities as EXO.

SM Entertainment agreed to EXO-CBX members pursuing their solo careers with a new agency as long as they paid a 10 percent royalty fee. On the other hand, INB100 argued that it only agreed on that number because SM Entertainment promised that the trio would get a cheap distribution deal at Kakao, which it failed to do.

"We will prove, in court, that SM's payment system is wrong," EXO-CBX said in a press release on Friday. "We will also report the unfair exclusive contract [of SM Entertainment] to the FTC and have it judged by the justice system."

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]