UPDATE: Kris, Luhan and SM Entertainment forced to settle their lawsuits
Seoul Central District Court has appointed an arbitraitor to force a compulsory mediation for the contract nullification lawsuits Kris (Wu Yifan) and Luhan filed against SM Entertainment.
If a settlement offer is not accepted by each side the justice department may step in to force a reconciliation settlement. Kris, Luhan and SM Entertainment have two weeks to state any objections to this ruling before the compulsory mediation act forces them to settle.
Wu Yifan's and Luhan’s attorneys stated to Star News, “We are currently reviewing the compulsory arbitration forwarded to us by the justice department, but we cannot release any detailed information regarding the case.”
SM Entertainment reaffirmed their position on the matter, “When [these stars] have no concrete reason or proof to give up [their career] and are hiring the same attorneys to use the same exact tactics to [leave the group or company], it just shows that once they have debuted and promoted with the group and have gotten popular as a celebrity, they begin ignoring all contracts made with that agency and the agency’s interests to leave for their own benefit.”
IN EARLIER NEWS: SM Entertainment take legal action against former EXO members Kris (Wu Yifan) & Luhan
SM Entertainment has taken legal action against Kris (Wu Yifan) and Luhan, former members of EXO, and their respective new management companies for continuing acting activities in China.
SM Entertainment remain in an unresolved dispute with Kris and Luhan over their separate contract terminations. On February 5th, they a statement saying, “We have filed official lawsuits against companies that have been using Luhan and Kris, who are currently pursuing activities illegally, as advertisement models. We have taken this action to prevent Kris and Luhan from further pursuing their activities in an illegal manner and to prohibit further damages.”
Their full official statement reads as follows:
Korean SM Entertainment as the legal agency of EXO’s former members Kris and Luhan has formally filed official lawsuits against companies that have been using Luhan and Kris, who are currently pursuing activities illegally, as advertisement models. Our lawsuit was formerly accepted into Chinese courts in 2015 February 4th. We have taken this action to prevent Kris and Luhan from further pursuing their activities in an illegal manner and to prohibit further damages.
Kris and Luhan have filed a lawsuit through Korean legal channels in May and October of 2014 respectively. After their one-sided legal action and before the matter was even taken to court, the two have been using EXO’s fame to participate in movies, advertisements, events and award shows. These activities have infringed on the rights of EXO members as well as SM and also caused extensive financial damages to SM and its partners.
SM used massive amounts of resources to turn EXO into one of the best artists in the world. Kris and Luhan left the group without sufficient reason as soon as the team gained fame and ignored contracts, trust and ethics and pursued their own profit. This action betrayed the trust between them and the company as well as the members. This action is also an abuse of the legal system.
The exclusive contract between SM with Kris and Luhan are in effect until the final decision is made in court. Therefore we plan to hold them responsible for all their illegally carried out activities in that duration. Also any solitary actions that brings in profit are an infringement of their contract. We will make sure they are held legally responsible for such actions.
We are working with Chinese legal representative KING&WOOD MALLESONS against those who have used the two as product models. We are also going to protect the rights of the company and EXO in other countries besides China to prevent further damages