SM Entertainment CEO Reportedly Criticizes Former EXO Members Kris, Luhan And Tao

In a revealing interview, SM Entertainment CEO Kim Young Min shared his views on the former EXO members that have broken away from the group to pursue solo activities in China.

EXO members Kris (Wu Yi Fan), Luhan and Tao (Huang Zitao) are currently locked in legal battles with SM Entertainment in a bid to nullify their contracts with the agency, and allow them to freely promote in China as solo artists.

Even without explicitly mentioning the three former EXO idols, Kim Young Min implied in his comments that their actions are focused on "personal gains," without giving respect to the fans and the system that has helped them to stardom.

He also touched on the possible negative implications of the idols' actions on the agency system, which he claims has been instrumental in popularizing Korean artists internationally.

"I believe Hallyu's driving force was consistently influenced by the agency system. It wasn't the agency itself [that impacted Hallyu] but I think it played a central role. Unlike [agencies in] other countries, Korean talent management agencies oversee all aspects from casting, training, producing, to marketing," began the SM Entertianment CEO in an interview earlier this week at the Korea-China Music Industry Forum, according to an interview translation from Allkpop.

"In this progress, SM's concern was human relations. Super Junior, EXO, and f(x) all have Chinese members. This year, an EXO concert will be held in Japan. It is expected to mobilize around 52,000 concertgoers. However, some of the Chinese members (Kris, Luhan, Tao) will not be present for the concert in Japan due to their lawsuits with SM. What I'm mentioning isn't just a story between SM and EXO or a story between the agency and the artists. I just wanted to state that depending on how the management rules are formed, the scale and area that the synergy impacts could change," he added.

"Using the weaknesses in the legal systems of Korea and China, they could pursue their personal, economic, short-term gains. They only followed their 'selves,' without any communication with the fans who have been with them from the beginning and with the music market. This can all be seen as their personal matters," he said.

"However, for personal gains, they are not attending the concert that will mobilize over 50,000 people as part of a group that unites Chinese and Koreans. In the Asian market, and as Chinese-born artists, I wonder what honor they have. I think it's something to consider."

"It's not the time to argue the differences between the Korean and Chinese markets but the time to discuss how the Korean and Chinese leaders can lead, expand and advance the Asian market. We have to think about the online platforms and the overall management rules and devise an alternate course of action. There may be trial and error but we have to create a cohesive mechanism that will evolve the Asian market into the biggest market that the West has seen," he ended.

Do you agree with CEO Kim Young Min's views and comments?

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Mickey is a writer and digital content creator based in Manila. He is a co-founder of ZAVI App and editor of the small business blog IndieMickey. He has also been bitten by the K-Pop fashion bug - follow him on Instagram @mickjami.

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