"Trust Broken" EXO-CBX, Injunction to Suspend Exclusivity Contract with INB100 Granted [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

The court has accepted the application for an injunction to suspend the exclusivity contract filed by Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin, who were active as the EXO sub-unit EXO-CBX, against their agency INB100.

On the 15th, the Seoul Central District Court's Civil Collegiate Panel No. 50 (Presiding Judge Lee Sang-hoon) granted the injunction to suspend the exclusivity contract filed by EXO-CBX against INB100. As a result, the exclusivity contract between EXO-CBX and INB100 will be suspended until the first-instance judgment is announced in the main lawsuit seeking confirmation of the non-existence of the exclusivity contract's validity.

The court also ruled that INB100 cannot conclude contracts with third parties such as broadcasters against EXO-CBX's will or demand them to perform entertainment activities, and prohibited any acts that obstruct EXO-CBX's independent entertainment activities.

The court stated, "EXO-CBX was obligated to pay settlement amounts according to the contract once their entertainment activity revenues were generated, but no payments have been made to date," adding, "Due to INB100's fault, the mutual trust relationship has broken down. The fundamental trust relationship upon which the contract is based has collapsed, making it difficult to maintain a normal exclusive relationship."

Furthermore, the court noted, "If the main judgment on contract validity takes a long time, EXO-CBX's independent entertainment activities during the remaining contract period will be severely restricted," and added, "This goes beyond mere economic aspects of the contractual relationship and raises serious concerns about infringement of constitutional fundamental rights such as EXO-CBX's freedom of occupational choice and freedom of activity."

Previously, in March, EXO-CBX notified INB100 of contract termination citing reasons including non-payment of signing bonuses and settlement amounts. After the agency did not respond, EXO-CBX filed an application for an injunction to suspend the exclusivity contract along with a lawsuit seeking confirmation of the non-existence of the exclusivity contract's validity on August 18. Currently, no first hearing date has been set for the main lawsuit.

Prior to this, at the preliminary hearing held on the 7th, INB100 did not appear and submitted no written materials, so the hearing was concluded as is.

INB100 is a company established by Baekhyun in June 2023 and was incorporated into One Hundred Label, a label founded by CEO Cha Ga-won in May of the following year.

CEO Cha Ga-won was arrested and indicted on August on suspicion of fraud involving hundreds of billions of won and is scheduled for his first trial on October 13.

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*This content was translated by AI.