EXO-CBX wins injunction against INB100 over unpaid earnings

A Seoul court on Tuesday suspended the exclusive contract between EXO members Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin and their agency, INB100, ruling in the trio's favor in a dispute over unpaid earnings.

The Seoul Central District Court granted the injunction that the three artists — known collectively as CBX — had filed against INB100, ruling that "the exclusive contract's effect will be suspended until a ruling in the main lawsuit confirming the contract’s nullification."

CBX notified INB100 in March that they were terminating the contract, citing unpaid signing fees and settlements. When the agency did not respond, they filed the injunction on Aug. 18, along with a lawsuit seeking confirmation of the contract’s nullification. No date has been set for the first hearing in the lawsuit.

On Tuesday, the court found that INB100 was obligated under the contract to pay CBX settlements whenever its entertainment activities generated revenue, but had failed to do so, breaching the trust between the two sides.

"The basic trust relationship underlying the contract has collapsed, making it difficult to maintain a normal exclusive relationship," the court said, adding that if a ruling on the main lawsuit takes too long, CBX's independent entertainment activities could be significantly restricted for the remainder of the contract. "This goes beyond the simple economic aspect of the contractual relationship and risks seriously infringing on their constitutional rights, including their freedom to choose an occupation and freedom to work independently."

Under the ruling, INB100 cannot sign with broadcasters or other third parties against the trio's wishes, demand that they perform entertainment activities or interfere with their independent entertainment work.

Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin debuted under SM Entertainment in 2012 as members of the boy band EXO. The trio formed their own subunit, EXO-CBX, which debuted with the EP "Hey Mama!" in 2016.

They left SM in 2023.

EXO's Baekhyun subsequently founded INB100, an independent label to manage himself, Chen and Xiumin. In May 2024, One Hundred Label absorbed INB100 as a subsidiary.

The label has been hit by a wave of artists claiming unpaid settlements and terminating their contracts, including Lee Seung-gi, Lee Mu-jin and The Boyz, in addition to the CBX dispute. Its co-CEO, Cha Ga-won, was indicted and detained in August on separate charges of committing roughly 30 billion won ($22 million) in fraud, with her first trial set for Oct. 13.

BY LEE JIAN [[email protected]]