Former EXO member Tao and his representation argued against SM Entertainment's long-term exclusive contract at their first hearing for the two parties' ongoing lawsuit. While Tao has been working to get his exclusive contract canceled, the agency has been asserting that his activities abroad are out of bounds of the contract.
At the hearing at Seoul Central District Court on October 23.Tao's lawyer argued that the idol star's exclusive contract should be deemed invalid citing the contract's length, profit distribution, and alleged discrimination. Tao's side stated, "If the trust in the confidence of the exclusive contract and its holder is broken, the contract can be terminated. Moreover, holding onto artists through contract length is an infringement on the rights of individuals and limits their freedom."
The lawyer continued that Tao's 10-year contract was unreasonably long. Though the Korea Fair Trade Commission has set the average contract length as 7 years, which can be extended to 10 years in the case of foreigners, Tao's rep asserted that SM Entertainment abused the law by setting a 10-year contract from the start. He further added that the contract violated KFTC guidelines by setting the contract date from debut rather than at the start of training.
SM Entertainment argued that the contract was within guidelines at the time of signing and that 10 years is not much when considering the training that goes into each artist. The agency further stated that 3 years were added to Tao's contract for overseas management concerns.
Tao's lawyer also claimed that some of EXO's Chinese members were discriminated against, while SM Entertainment responded that there was no such discrimination and that evidence must be provided.
SM Entertainment and Tao's next hearing will be on December 4.
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