WHY JYJ LEFT SM ENTERTAINMENT (EXO-CBX SUING SM EXPLAINED -Short Version) 

This is a very simple version of the lawsuit -there are a lot of ins and outs as it was a 3 year long battle. With what's happening to EXO-CBX, I've been getting a lot of questions from newer Kpop Fans asking about JYJ so hopefully this fills in some gaps! The original contract for you to read is available on the Supreme Court of South Korea's website. I'm not sure what's going to happen with EXO as this situation is still developing, but I'm hoping for the best! Stay positive, friends! 💙 (Sources: Asia Sentinel, Billboard, NME, AllKpop, Koreaboo, Soompi, The Korea Herald, etc.)

It's ridiculous how powerful SM is that they literally black list these artists from Korean tv.

I can't even believe that these 3 young man stood Against SME at that time when SM used to be so powerful/corrupted that they almost blacklisted them from TV. Thanks JYJ for the courage & the sacrifice that you bear all these years.

Thanks for reminding the story from 2009-2012. JYJ deserves to be remembered for the changes their battle brought to the K-pop industry! The three boys were so brave to stand against SM like David against Goliath. Kim Jaejoong is still paying a high price for his freedom. He is still absent from the main TV channels in Korea to this day.

Thank you for this explanation. I was a Cassiopeia (TVXQ fan) at that time and this lawsuit and split of the band literally broke me and I quit Kpop altogether because it was too painful. I am back in Kpop, mostly for Super Junior.. but I am starting to enjoy newer groups.. it’s still hard for me when TVXQ come up though.

Thanks for the quick summary! Honestly, this was not the news I was expecting today, but I can say I firmly stand with Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin along with the rest of EXO. Apparently, they asked SEVEN times for them to have copies of their payment settlements and other documents necessary but were basically ignored. Being with EXO for some time now and seeing how CBX carry themselves, this seems like this lawsuit was the last resort for them. I have faith that they discussed this with their fellow members, especially after everything they've been through. And well, it seems to be working as SM is finally paying attention to them now. Though, what's going with SM's management/PR team? Why do they almost immediately blame another party that's completely innocent or uninvolved? Like do they think that the part accused will just say nothing? ('ve seen some discourse on twitter and instagram that the reason they did this was due to Lee Soo-man's emblezzment of foreign revenue (I'm not too sure about this), which some what makes sense since Xiumin and Chen were a part of Exo-M while Baekhyun was a part of SuperM, two groups that promoted in foreign markets, so after they had their contract renewals, they may noticed something was amiss and got legal consultation. But what's really scary is that this happening to Exo? THE EXO? Like one of SM's top moneymakers? So, what does that mean for other artists under the label? Shinee? Red Velvet? NCT? SNSD? Super Junior? Aespa? Are they being paid too? Whatever happens, I have the utmost faith in EXO. They're grown men who know what's best for them and their careers at this point. Suho said back in 2019 that they'll stick together no matter what, so we'll just have to wait and see. I hope this doesn't effect the comeback too much (even SM tried to blame CBX for the delayment when we know that's not true). Again, thanks for the explanation.

As a kpop fan over many years, this is what came into my mind immediately as well. The JYJ incident. And Jessica too. SM literally blacklisted these people for simply leaving the shithole of a company that the sm is. But i hope it won’t happen to CBX because they are already very famous in SK and now people can have more exposure to what’s happening than back then. So let’s hope for the best, trust the boys and wait.

Thanks for covering this SM should really be exposed, like it did this once with JYJ and now again with the Exo members , ridiculous.

Im still amazed how SM didnt learn from their mistakes and didnt start treat their artist better....

The fact that SM keeps getting itself into the same issues over a decade later shows how arrogant and shameless they are. Then they take it further by blacklisting them? Some people say that SM is no longer influential enough to blacklist anyone, but I think they’re wrong. Sure, they’ve lost a lot of leading influence when it comes to their groups’ unrivaled domination of the entertainment industry but SM has been one of THE big 3 founding companies of Kpop. Their business connections cannot be underestimated, which is why I fear CBX could still be in danger of being shunned from the mainstream media.

TVXQ, towards the end of 2009 were the strongest force in Kpop at that time. And that too by a longgg margin. Their popularity and success was so big that it was just a matter of some time that they became a global phenomenon. (This is all before the internet bloom that happened a bit later). However, despite that kind of success and popularity, 3 members were still blacklisted and restricted to such an extent that it was unimaginable to the fans at that time. People thought that all 5 members would operate normally even if under different groups but that was definitely NOT the case. Was really tragic for JYJ but I'm really happy for how they handled the situation and stuck to their guns and never gave up. Now of course things have changed alot since those days (JYJ is still blacklisted to this day though (not officially but it's still prevalent)) and I hope nothing even a bit similar of the sort happens to CBX. Still there's no knowing of what SM can and will do. Thankfully, LSM has left so that's a good thing. Shame on SM though. Always at the forefront of corruption, mistreatment and mismanagement.

Horrible. SM does not know what they are doing. They have so mismanaged EXO.

I have been Cassiopeia since the beginning, and even though the group has split (not disbanded) I still am supporting Max Changmin,Yunho,JYJ ( I can't get away, I love them so much 😭) But I'm so mad at SM for treating the idols like objects ,Thanks a lot🙏 for this video

Thank you for covering this!! Jaejoong is also starting his own agency soon!!

I was watching lot kpop video include tvxq went from 5 to 2 member jyj really decieved to respect and recognised for what they did and 3 of them were really braved to do changed the kpop industry for 3rd gen and 4th gen to have better contract so they don't have the deal with same thing they went through.

I look forward to your full TVXQ history some day ;) Thanks for always bringing perspective and thorough explanations. It helps cut through so much of the nonsense. I am truly rooting for CBX and also hoping that their brave actions bring good things for EXO and for the other SM artists. More people should be thankful to JYJ for the impact their lawsuit had. x

And people used to blame jyj for doing that they say because of jyj tvxq disbanded like there are alot of drama going when this happened and personaly i didn't trust sm from the start so i stick with jyj they even wrote a song about sm

All the Cassiopeias re-living the trauma after becoming exo-l 😂 (same here)

Hopefully things at least change a bit this time. I have so many scenarios in my mind but I'll let it stay in my mind and watch this case closely. My favorite unit from my favorite group, sobs! However, they sure have thought about this long and have deep discussions with the members. It's not easy for them to take this action given the fact that we know how wild the entertainment industry is. Especially for idols. What more from big labels like SM. Fighting!

2 decades of binding contract. That is insane even for Korean standards.

I love dbsk and jyj and exo. To think that this is dbsk/jyj all over again makes me so mad. Imagine SM dont even respect the JYJ Act, and until today jaejoong and junsu are unable to promote in tv music shows.. as recent as few years ago jaejoong's concert was cancelled at the last minute with the so called venue not available??

they weren’t just successful. they were one of the biggest kpop groups in asia at the time selling out stadiums and selling 100s of thousands of albums. it wasn’t just the unfair profit distribution or long contracts that got to jyj. they used to only get one week off the whole year to rest and that was including sick days, so sometimes they would spend their whole week off sick. they would travel back and forth between korea and japan several times in one day for schedules. if they took time off to rest they were told that this would just lead to an extension of their contracts. there’s a reason they used to be called slave contracts. they felt like they were going to commit group sewercide if they lost the lawsuit

Thank you jonathan for the explantion.. i hope EXO will get their fairness .. coz they are too much patient with SM mistreatment. That makes EXOL frustated.

As a K-pop fan since 1998, it's been interesting to see how artists' contracts have evolved. Many groups had just 5 year contracts in the 90s. When Shinhwa left SM in 2003 after the end of their 5 year contract and took their name with them (although that was not legally resolved until years later), they actually became more successful. SM was so angry over this "betrayal" that they got the idea of more than doubling the length of artists' contracts to make sure that there would never be another Shinhwa. Basically, the 13 year contract, which was really 15 for male artists since years in military service didn't count, was meant to cover the whole prime of an idol's career. It was assumed that after 13/15 years they would age out of the industry anyway. I can't tell you how disappointing it is that 20 years later the same battles are still being fought, even after reasonable 7 year contracts supposedly became the new normal. Trying to bring back 13 year contracts by pressuring artists to sign a future contract before their current one expires is a real dick move.

Perhaps this is the reason why the EXO member sometimes advise fans not to spend too much money on their albums. T.T

New kpop group should thank JYJ. Because after that the law changes, and the contract would only be like 5-10 years.

Yo thank you so much for Bringing kore attention to this, I’ve been a fan of TVXQ back when they debut back in 2003 and still to this day, they’re my favorite group.

Very good explanation. As a long time kpop fan and cassie, I can conquer.

It’s the JYJ situation all over again… Thank you for the explanation!

Jyj lawsuit also fought for better contract to protect minors...

I understand TVXQ thing, but EXO's story if way more sad. I mean 3 Chinese members left the group at it's peak, one stayed in China for many years and now 3 korean members are leaving too. Wtf do SM think exols are a joke?

Yes. Yaaaas. More ppl need to talk abt JYJ. MORE PPL NEED TO KNOW.

I'm confused should i support the boys or be sad for them, i'm an EXO-L and will be forever, good luck for them, hope they will find their happiness despite everything else

SM behaves like a mafia.

That was the reason I have never supported SM groups after that. I refused to spend my hard working money on SM.

Don’t forget Jessica was banned from Korea by SM

It’s so sad to think that sm has so many amazing groups, extremely talented and well respected in the industry, basically started the hallyu wave, but are treating their artists so poorly. Hoping it won’t be as bad with exo. 🙏🏼

Yes it does help. Thank you.😊

I used to be a really big fan of SM Entertainment in the past but so much stuff has happened over the years that don't make sense these dumbass slave contracts they be getting to their artists is ridiculous. But they keep shooting themselves in the foot now you got EXO one of your most popular group in the world trying to distance themselves from you my God you lost Millions of dollars as soon as three members decided to sue you which shows how powerful EXO really is I can't wait until all the members get out of that damn company this is just plain ridiculous EXO forever

Could you tell me the law passed in 2015 I think you say where settlements to lawsuits are public information? I would like to read more. I never heard of this. I’d appreciate if you could point me in the right direction. Thank you in advance. 😺

I want this big 3 to fall down to sambles so that they won't be able to do this to anyone in future anymore.

Exo😢😢😢

they were known as DBSK when i lived in Korea

So now what are the other members doing and where are they? What is the current status of cbx, if you know?? And what about the other members of exo? Hope you can answer each question..

Thanks for the info!

Omg

I stan H.O.T , DBSK and EXO yeah 3 gen heart suffering 😂 bcs of group split all 3 are top 1 generation each their era 1st 2nd and 3rd....im waiting for 4th peak group from sm...but still didnt see yet 2024