A thread dedicated to the discussion of Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin’s (CBX) ongoing disputes with SM Entertainment and INB100.
SM vs. CBX
A brief history (for context):
In June 2023 CBX terminated their exclusive contract with SM and renegotiated terms for a new contract. Under this new contract, CBX would continue their activities with EXO under SM, while their individual activities would be managed under INB100, which was established by Baekhyun.
A summary of the current legal dispute with SM
- Around June of 2024, SM sues CBX over unpaid royalties that the company claims they are entitled to for the use of SM IP in CBX’s individual activities (Source)
- That same month CBX countersues SM for failing to uphold a verbally agreed-upon distribution fee (Source)
- In the autumn of 2025, in two separate court-led mediations, CBX and SM fail to reach an agreement, and so the litigation continues (Sources 1, 2)
- In October 2025, it is reported that several of CBX’s legal claims against SM (unrelated to the current active lawsuits) are dismissed by the court (Source)
- In October 2025, CBX state they will pay SM the royalties once the legal procedures have concluded (Source)
- In February 2026 SM places provisional seizures on CBX’s assets (Source)
The court will now decide on the outcome of the ongoing conflict between SM and CBX. As of writing this on April 22, 2026 (KST), the first court hearing on the case is scheduled for April 23, 2026 at 2:10PM (KST) (Source)
Please leave a comment if there’s incorrect information or if anything was left out. The mods will rectify accordingly.
CBX vs INB100
- In 2024, INB100 joins the ONE HUNDRED label as a subsidiary
- At the beginning of 2026 it is reported that ONE HUNDRED is facing financial issues and is thus failing to pay all its artists under its umbrella, including CBX (Source)
- In April of 2026, CBX notify INB100 of contract termination due to unpaid settlements and other contract violations (Source)
As of writing this on April 22, 2026 6AM (KST) there hasn’t been any confirmed report on whether INB100 has accepted CBX’s notice of termination, hence, as of now, CBX’s contracts with INB100 remain active.
What is allowed in this thread:
- Discussions ONLY concerning CBX’s conflict with SM and INB100
What is NOT allowed:
- Downright hateful comments about CBX. Remember, they are still EXO members. Any vile remarks directed at them will not be tolerated
- Topics UNRELATED to the above-mentioned, CURRENTLY ACTIVE disputes
- Previously resolved lawsuits or legal claims
- Mentioning the other six members of EXO, as they are not involved in the lawsuits
- Discussions of lawsuits or disputes concerning other artists under ONE HUNDRED
- Rumors or gossip about the personal lives of those involved. Drama within the fandom, from other subreddits or platforms (i.e. Twitter)
- MC Mong. As far as we know he isn't involved in any of CBX's current disputes, so there's no need to include him in the discussions.
- Claims made without citing legitimate sources. Please, if you can, provide an English article from legitimate news media as a source when making a claim. If there is none, and you cannot verify a claim with certainty, then refrain from using said claim in your argument. Or at the very least, give a disclaimer before speaking on it. Translated information from fan accounts will NOT be considered a reliable source. While the mods understand it is often difficult to obtain reliable English sources, it's important that we all be careful about what we share so as to avoid any misinformation being spread within this thread.
We mods understand this is all very stressful and that the fandom is not united at the moment, but we urge you to be civil in the comments, even when having differences of opinion. If you feel you cannot present your argument in a respectful manner then DO NOT ENGAGE.
Please follow the rules. Repeated disregard for the rules will result in a ban. Report any comments that break the rules but don't engage. And if you come across any misinformation in the comments, please correct it respectfully and also report it to the mods.
Please, for the love of EXO, BE NICE!
All updates regarding the lawsuits belong in this thread only. Any future developments will be updated either in the post body or under a pinned comment.
We will greatly appreciate your cooperation 🙏
by bachhoe07
4 Comments
I doubt their termination is just going to be accepted. One Hundred has already denied The Boyz terminations and said they settled with them (which is false) so I don’t imagine they’ll be any easier on CBX. It’ll probably be more lawsuits unfortunately.
Thx for the breakdown. This is really helpful for someone who knew nothing about this situation until I saw exo come back without CBX which freaked me out.
Fully expecting this to be a pretty quiet year for CBX while all of this mess is dealt with. They’ve been pretty quiet already so far, but I imagine they won’t do any further work under INB100, so it’s a case of waiting for that issue to resolve and then to find another agency (third time lucky, I guess?)
Whether it was bad advice, poor judgment, or whatever, they’ve had a hellish time these past few years dealing with corporate and legal bs, so I hope they’re taking care of themselves and can untangle from this mess as cleanly as possible (especially Baekhyun as an INB100 shareholder).
I sincerely hope they can return to EXO someday, and I do believe the door is ajar for them, but I think it’s one step at a time, and the priority right now is leaving INB100 and then dealing with SM through the courts.
I don’t know how I feel about CBX, been having mixed feelings since I saw the news last week of their termination with INB100.
As someone who works in corporate I knew CBX didn’t really have a case against SM, and was constantly curious as to why they didn’t wait out their contract before leaving SM. Was mentioning how the grass isn’t always greener on the other side when the press conference proceedings started 2024. Sucks to be right, it really does especially now when the other side they went to is an even bigger Sh*t. It’s basically a clusterf**k.
I’m just hoping they have the mental strength to go through the court proceedings with the multiple cases they have against them and BPM don’t fight dirty in the long run.
It suck’s to see my ult group (98% left/done with kpop at this point) be focusing on legal proceedings against resting and releasing new music but I believe they’ll overcome. Life always comes with rough patch and we strive to rise above.