The court has accepted the injunction filed by EXO members CHEN, BAEKHYUN, and XIUMIN (hereafter CBX) to suspend the effectiveness of their exclusive contracts with agency INB100, citing unpaid settlements.
On the 15th, the 50th Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Sang-hoon) granted the injunction application filed by CBX against INB100. As a result, the effectiveness of the exclusive contracts will be suspended until the first-instance ruling on the main lawsuit for confirmation of the non-existence of the exclusive contracts.
The court stated, "While INB100 had the obligation to pay settlement amounts according to the contracts when profits were generated from CBX's entertainment activities, it has not done so to date. The mutual trust has been broken due to INB100's attributable faults."
The court added, "The fundamental trust underlying the contracts has collapsed, making it difficult to further maintain a normal exclusive relationship. If the main judgment on the validity of the contracts is prolonged, CBX's independent entertainment activities during the remaining contract period will be severely restricted." It further noted, "This goes beyond the simple economic aspect of a contractual relationship and risks seriously infringing upon constitutional fundamental rights, such as CBX's freedom of career choice and freedom of activity."
Previously, CBX notified INB100 of the termination of their exclusive contracts in March and April due to unpaid contract fees and settlements. When the company did not respond, they filed the injunction application to suspend the effectiveness of the exclusive contracts along with a lawsuit to confirm the non-existence of the exclusive contracts on the 18th of last month.
INB100 is a company established by BAEKHYUN in June 2023, and it was incorporated into One Hundred Label, led by CEO Cha Ga-won, in May of the following year. CEO Cha was indicted and detained last August on fraud charges involving tens of billions of won, with her first public trial scheduled for the 13th of next month. Singers such as Lee Seung-gi, Lee Mujin, and THE BOYZ have also successively notified the agency of exclusive contract terminations, citing unpaid settlements and other reasons.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)