Singer MC Mong has personally spoken up about the contract termination dispute between EXO members Chen, Baekhyun, Xiumin (collectively known as ChenBaekXi), and their agency SM Entertainment (hereafter referred to as SM).

On the 2nd, MC Mong's legal representative from the law firm Go Yoon-gi clarified, "MC Mong has not made any artificial intervention that could trigger a dispute between SM and ChenBaekXi. MC Mong is not an internal director of Big Planet Made Entertainment, hence the rumors are evidently distant from the truth."

Adding further, he said, "MC Mong only has a personal relationship with Baekhyun as a senior and junior in the music industry," and stated that he had "not made any attempts to recruit the artist using personal relationships. At a casual gathering, he merely consoled his junior who was struggling with company issues. There were no illegal inducements as mentioned by SM, and he was not in such a position."

The representative indicated a possibility of firm response saying, "We request SM to refrain from ambiguous references to a third party so that MC Mong does not suffer further damage and misunderstanding," and "we will respond promptly through legal representatives regarding the spread of false information."

Previously on the 1st, Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin notified SM through their legal representative about the termination of their exclusive contracts, claiming they were forced into a slave contract. The three members claimed that their request for a copy of the settlement document was not accepted by SM.

In response, SM stated the same day, "It was confirmed that there are external forces that approach our affiliated artists, provide false information, incorrect legal evaluations, and make irrational proposals like it's fine to ignore our exclusive contracts and sign with them."

Continuing, SM said, "These external forces not only induce our affiliated artists to violate their valid exclusive contracts with us but also induce them to breach the exclusive contracts of other artists affiliated with us or sign dual contracts. We will not tolerate the actions of those who pursue greed for money without any interest in essential contents such as the future of artists and legitimate legal rights and will take all possible legal actions."

Following this, reports emerged that the external forces mentioned by SM included MC Mong, who is an internal director at Big Planet Made Entertainment. In response, MC Mong personally refuted these claims.

The following is the official position of MC Mong's side.

This is Law Firm Go Yoon-gi (responsible attorney Go Yoon-gi). We deliver the position of our client, MC Mong.

  1. SM made claims about external third parties exerting influence on their affiliated artists in the dispute between EXO's Baekhyun, Xiumin, Chen (collectively 'ChenBaekXi') and SM Entertainment. Related articles were distributed.
  2. Unfortunately, some follow-up articles speculated without confirmation that the third party mentioned by SM was 'MC Mong' and 'Big Planet Made Entertainment', where MC Mong is an internal director.
  3. To prevent further propagation of incorrect reports, we clarify through this press release that MC Mong has not made any artificial intervention that could cause a dispute between SM and 'ChenBaekXi'. As MC Mong is not an internal director of Big Planet Made Entertainment, related rumors are clearly distant from the truth.
  4. MC Mong merely has a personal relationship with Baekhyun as a senior and junior in the music industry, and has not attempted to recruit this artist using personal relationships. He merely comforted his junior who was struggling with company issues at a casual gathering. We clarify that there was no illegal inducement as mentioned by SM and he was not in such a position.
  5. We request SM to refrain from ambiguous references to a third party so that MC Mong does not suffer further damage and misunderstanding.
  6. MC Mong has clarified the facts and made his position clear through this press release. Therefore, we will respond promptly through legal representatives regarding the spread of false information. We kindly ask for your cooperation to prevent any further damage.