SM Entertainment makes second statement, claiming that all artists can review records of their earnings at any time

SM Entertainment has issued a second statement of response to the legal action taken by EXO members Baekhyun, Xiumin, and Chen on June 1 KST, legally filing for the termination of their exclusive contracts. 

In the second statement, SM Entertainment claimed, "All artists have received their payments under the belief that a record of earnings and balances can be requested at any time for numerous years in the past, without any problems. During the members' contract renewal season, while carrying out fair negotiations as artist and agency on equal footing, Baekhyun, Xiumin, and Chen chose to renew their contracts of their free will. The issue of payments and earnings did not arise during the renewal discussion period."

The label added on, "Although artists have the right to review their earnings and balances at any time, the fact that the artists specifically requested copies of the balance documents suggested that outside forces may be at play." 

As a result, SM Entertainment "requested evidence to prove that the artists did not sign multiple exclusive contracts, thereby violating their existing exclusive contracts," however, instead of a response to this request, Baekhyun, Xiumin, and Chen's legal representative took action by filing for the termination of the members' exclusive contracts, the company explained.

Furthermore, SM Entertainment argued that the label is closely following existing regulations surrounding exclusive contracts in the entertainment industry, refuting earlier claims by Baekhyun, Xiumin, and Chen that they were not given opportunities to seek other options. SM Entertainment said, "Artists under our label such as Girls' Generation and f(x) have gone on to sign contracts with different agencies. In the case of Girls' Generation, only some of the members have chosen to work under different agencies, but these members still maintain good relations with SM Entertainment. Baekhyun, Xiumin, and Chen were also given the freedom to hire legal representatives during their contract renewal processes, and the renewal was by no means forced." 

Finally, SM Entertainment insisted that the company's "greatest goal was to protect its artists, and in doing so protect the love and support of fans." In the agency's initial statement earlier on June 1, SM Entertainment claimed that "outside forces" had come in contact with artists in order to recruit them to management companies elsewhere.