A lawsuit between SM Entertainment and a former member of the K-pop group EXO will head to court soon.

On August 4, Korean news outlets reported that SM Entertainment and Luhan, formerly of EXO and EXO-M, failed to reach a settlement outside of court. The two parties are scheduled to appear before a judge on August 19.

The news comes ten months after Luhan's initial filing of the legal complaint against SM Entertainment, and several attempts at mediation.

In May, the Korean courts ordered Luhan and SM Entertainment to meet for compulsory mediation. In June, SM Entertainment rejected that method to end the suit with Luhan, as well as another one regarding a similar case with another former member of EXO, Kris (Wu Yi Fan.)

In response to the failed mediation, Star News reports that SM Entertainment released a statement:

"The fact that both [Luhan and Kris] seek legal action with the same reasoning and are utilizing the same legal representative when there were no issues can only mean that they are prioritizing their personal success and putting it before the company and the group [EXO] after achieving fame through the activities of that group."

Since the departure of both Luhan and Kris in 2014, SM Entertainment has fought against the contract nullification lawsuits submitted by each. Both men left South Korea to pursue successful careers in the Chinese entertainment industry. SM Entertainment has moved to block both of their careers, arguing that they are still under contract, and has filed lawsuits in Chinese courts to put a halt to their professional activities in the country.

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