1st Mediation Session Between SM And EXO-CBX Fails, What Does This Mean For The Group?
The legal dispute between EXO’s unit CBX (Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin) and their agency SM Entertainment has seen its first mediation attempt fall through.
On the 23rd of September, the Seoul Eastern District Court’s Civil Division 15 (Chief Judge Jo Yongrae) held the first mediation session regarding the settlement lawsuit and contract enforcement lawsuit filed by EXO-CBX and SM against each other. Earlier this month, on the 1st, the court combined the lawsuits and referred them to mediation. The session was held behind closed doors.
Important read: The Timeline Of EXO-CBX and SM Entertainment Legal Battles [from 2023 to 2025]
However, the two sides failed to reach an agreement. As a result, the court scheduled a second mediation session for October 2.
Many fans are wondering what this means for the group as a whole since the group is slated to release something this year. Four of the group’s members also held a live broadcast recently following Sehun’s discharge. Many are wondering if this means the trio will be able to join EXO in their comeback or not.
The dispute traces back to 2023, when EXO-CBX notified SM of terminating their exclusive contracts, claiming the company failed to properly provide settlement data, and even reported SM to the Fair Trade Commission. The conflict seemed temporarily resolved through an agreement, but tensions reignited when SM filed a lawsuit, asserting that EXO-CBX failed to pay 10% of their personal activity revenue as promised.
In response, EXO-CBX countered with their own lawsuit, arguing it was unfair for SM to demand 10% of their personal earnings while not honoring its own promise—through Kakao—to secure a distribution fee rate of 5.5% for their albums, which is below the standard industry rate. The amount under litigation is estimated at around 600 million won [$430,280].
Source: (A)
