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K-Pop Boy Group Files Antitrust Suit Against SM Entertainment

 |  June 6, 2023

Members of the K-pop boy group EXO, Baekhyun, Xiumin, and Chen, have filed a complaint with the antitrust regulator against SM Entertainment for their contract terms, according to their lawyer on Monday, June 5th.

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    The nine-piece group has expressed concerns about the length of their contract durations and the agency’s financial transparency.

    The agency was informed of the termination of their contracts last week through their lawyer. The company stated that the contracts had been renewed in December and cited those reasons for the termination.

    The singers filed a complaint with the Fair Trade Commission on Sunday, as they had previously warned, according to their lawyer.

    “On behalf of my clients, I submitted a complaint to the Fair Trade Commission against SM Entertainment yesterday,” Atty. Lee Jae-hak from the Seoul-based law firm Lin said in a press release.

    He stated that his side is requesting intervention from authorities regarding the company’s alleged abuse of its dominant position in the industry.