SM Entertainment released an official statement in recent days announcing the outcome of their lawsuit with ex-EXO member Tao.
The counter lawsuit by SM Entertainment were made against Tao’s Chinese illegal promotions due to his remaining contract with the SM Entertainment. In addition to the original claim, SM Entertainment also claimed that he left the team and agency without notice.
SM Entertainment is currently in lawsuits against EXO members Kris, Luhan and Tao for violating their exclusive contracts by taking part in illegal promotions in China.
Among those is the ‘temporary payment claim’ lawsuit against Tao made on October 13, 2015, where Tao violated the duty to repay. It has been ruled by the Intermediate People’s Court in the Qingdao, Shandong, China that Tao should repay SM Entertainment for the temporary payment that he has delayed to pay back.Last April, after Tao left EXO without notice, he asked for a temporary payment from SM. SM Entertainment wanted to sincerely do everything they could as his agency and gave him his temporary payment.
However, even though Tao clearly knew the bank account of the concerned party, he failed to pay back the amount in the promised time. And he went against common sense and went to the Korean court to file a lawsuit [to nullify his contract].The Chinese competent court ruled that Tao violated the law and had a breach of promise, resulting in ‘right prevailing in the end’.
As a public figure, Tao did anything but act morally and informally had illegal entertainment activities under a different Chinese company.
He clearly violated the ‘sportsmanship of a contract’ and ‘God’s principle of integrity’ which China emphasizes. He ignored the standard morals as a member of society.
SM Entertainment will not just remain with this ruling, but will take legal measures to confront all action regarding the lawful interests of SM and EXO.
We will represent the good intentions of the victims, and prevent any damage happening between Korea and China’s cultural exchange because of Kris, Luhan and Tao’s violation of the law and behavior of breaching their promise.
