SM Entertainment has reportedly seized the asset of EXO members Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin (EXO-CBX).
According to the pop music industry on the 11th, SM recently carried out a provisional seizure on part of EXO-CBX's asset. The targets reportedly included Chen's jeonse deposit bond for a dwellings, Baekhyun's APT. in Guri, Gyeonggi Province, and Xiumin's APT. in Yongsan District, Seoul.
The total amount SM sought in the provisional seizure is reportedly 2.6 billion won. By member, it is 300 million won for Chen, 1.6 billion won for Baekhyun, and 700 million won for Xiumin. In the pop music industry, the view is that SM took steps to preserve claims equivalent to 10% of individual activity revenue, based on the terms of the agreement the two sides signed in June 2023.
The conflict between SM and EXO-CBX escalated in June 2023. At the time, EXO-CBX raised issues with settlement matters and contract duration, notified SM of terminating their existing exclusive contracts, and signaled legal action, while SM said the settlement data provided had been sufficient and raised what it called tamping allegations.
The two sides then reached an agreement on June 18, 2023. EXO's group activities would be conducted at SM, and individual activities at INB100, with the core of the deal being that EXO-CBX would pay 10% of individual activity revenue.
However, the conflict resurfaced the following year. In June 2024, EXO-CBX pushed back, arguing that SM had not honored a commitment guaranteeing a 5.5% fee rate for album and music distribution, and filed a fraud complaint against SM executives, but the case was dismissed for lack of evidence.
Also, in October last year, controversy reignited over full-group EXO activities. At the time, SM demanded "payment of 10% of individual activity revenue under the existing agreement," but said "it has not yet been carried out."