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EXO whole once more, as subunit agrees to SM Entertainment's conditions

Published: 29 Oct. 2025, 21:45

LIM JEONG-WON
[email protected]

EXO-CBX, boy band EXO's subunit [SM ENTERTAINMENT]

Members of boy band EXO’s subunit EXO-CBX, Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin, have agreed to all of SM Entertainment’s conditions, their agency INB100 said on Wednesday.

Negotiations between the subunit and SM Entertainment have been underway since July with the goal of allowing full-group EXO activities, according to a statement from INB100 on Wednesday. On Oct. 2, EXO-CBX’s side accepted SM Entertainment’s terms in full, the statement said.

“While we were working hard to prepare for full EXO promotions, we received an announcement regarding the holding of an EXO fan meeting and the release of a full album, excluding EXO-CBX,” INB100 said. “The members of EXO-CBX have chosen to reach an agreement because they value the relationship with their longtime fans above all else.”

Earlier, SM Entertainment announced that EXO, excluding EXO-CBX, would hold a fan meeting at Incheon Inspire Arena on Dec. 13 to 14, and would release the group’s eighth full album in the first quarter of next year.

INB100 said that EXO-CBX had cleared their December schedules in hopes of participating in full-group activities, and were now waiting for SM’s final response via legal representatives.

The legal conflict began in June 2023 when EXO-CBX sought to terminate their exclusive contracts, citing SM Entertainment’s alleged failure to provide transparent accounting and forced long-term contracts.

SM Entertainment countered by accusing external parties of illegal interference and filed its own lawsuit in turn, alleging that the trio had failed to fulfill their agreed payment terms.

EXO-CBX also sought disclosure of accounting records covering 13 years of group activity and filed applications for document inspection and injunctions. The court denied most of those requests, including the document-submission demand, ruling that only records from the start of a new exclusive contract were subject to review.

The Fair Trade Commission and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism concluded their investigations into alleged contract-related violations, finding no breaches.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]