EXO‘s past member, Tao, lost his lawsuit against SM Entertainment in an attempt to nullify his exclusive contract.
On April 28, the Seoul Central District Court ruled to reject Tao’s lawsuit against SM Entertainment where he wished to nullify the contract.
Tao’s lawyer has argued that the contract with SM Entertainment was unfair, but SM Entertainment refuted those claims by saying,
“The original proposed contract should pose no problem whatsoever because it was on pair with the regulations proposed by the Fair Trade Commission.”
— SM Entertainment
The judge made a recommendation for reconciliation in September 2016 but both sides could not reach a compromise. The two sides continued to face each other with different claims regarding the duration of the exclusive contract, distribution of profits, and even claims of discrimination.
Tao separated from SM Entertainment with his withdrawal from EXO in April 2015 and began his activities in China. In August of the same year, he filed a lawsuit against SM.
Shortly after the news of Tao’s lawsuit dismissal, SM Entertainment made an official statement regarding their legal victory.
“On April 28, 2017, the Seoul Central District Court ruled to dismiss all of Tao’s claims against SM Entertaintment. Due to this ruling all of his claims thus far have been officially dismissed. SM Entertainment is a leader in the globalization of the Hallyu Wave and Korean culture in general. We are glad about the court’s decision we want to share that we will continue to do business more actively in China and Asia. In addition, we will work towards having a more transparent nature with our entertaintment contracts in the future. Not just in Korea but China and Asia as a whole.”
— SM Entertaintment
Source: X Sports News Herald Pop
