SM Entertainment Files Lawsuit Against Kris and Luhan for Contract Violation

SM Entertainment filed a lawsuit against ex-EXO members Kris and Luhan, who are pursuing entertainment activities in China.

SM Entertainment revealed on February 5, “The Korean management company SM Entertainment is EXO members Kris (Wu Yi Fan) and Luhan’s legal exclusive management company, so a lawsuit was filed on February 4, 2015 against Luhan, who is actively working as a celebrity illegally in China, as well as the advertisement sponsor who used Luhan as their advertisement model.”

They said, “We are expressing an official stance so that Kris (Wu Yi Fan) and Luhan’s continued illegal activities can be ceased and there will be no more companies who will be victimized because of this.”

The company expressed, “Kris (Wu Yi Fan) and Luhan each filed lawsuits in May and October of 2014 respectively through the same attorney in Korea, and after this one-sided lawsuit, Kris and Luhan used EXO’s huge popularity to appear on various movies, commercials, events, and award ceremonies even before the lawsuits began to carry through. These activities infringe on the rights and interests of EXO members and SM, and at the same time, are economically damaging the affiliated companies.”

They added, “We invested a large amount of human and economic efforts to develop the group EXO into a global artist in a short two years.” They pointed out, “Kris (Wu Yi Fan) and Luhan left the team for no valid reason, and as soon as the artist group gained popularity through the efforts of [SM Entertainment], they ignored the contract, ignored trust and ethics, and pursued only individual profits. This is not only an unethical act that throws away the trust of the company and the other members, but also an illegal one.”

They said, “Until a ruling have been made on the lawsuit between [SM Entertainment] and Kris (Wu Yi Fan) and Luhan by the courts, the exclusive contract continues to be valid. We will be taking legal action against all of the illegal activities that have occurred since that time.” They also said, “Also, their individual activities that they engaged in including their business activities, advertisement activities and movie filming during this period all violate the contract. Also, the two people’s violation of the contract also violate the rights and profits of SM and EXO. [SM Entertainment] will be asking them to take corresponding legal responsibilities.”

They said, “We worked officially with the Chinese law firm KING & WOOD MALLESONS to file the lawsuits against Luhan and Luhan’s advertisement company, and we will take every legal measure necessary to protect the rights of [SM Entertainment] and EXO, as well as innocent victims even in China and various countries so that no economic damages are incurred.”

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