the three exos suing aren't suing on the basis of being a subunit, though? imo exo all went to the law firm with two goals: how to get their paycheck stubs going back a decade, the right to ask questions without sm's manipulation and intimidation tactics, and with the possibility of keeping their brand as a boygroup called exo. my theory is the lawyers in this case took in all the contracts and decided that kim minseok, byun baekhyun, and kim jongdae likely had the most unbearably complicated contracts (then jongin bc of supermarket, then remaining five exos), thus more paths are available (in the eyes of the law) to force sm to hand over the documents the three are demanding, and leave the company.

why sm is concerned: letting their three employees terminate their contract means they lose out on a million-seller idol (baekhyun) and quite possibly an entire boygroup (2 main vocals 1 all-rounder less in exo)

sme needs money to prove their mgmt is worth kakao money, preferably in a way that isn't breaking laws (except we all know sm and kakao ignore labor laws to exploit artists and workers gleefully)

<i>7. Furthermore, as in the case of the artists (Baekhyun, Xiumin, and Chen), if settlement reports and settlement basis have not been provided to other SM artists, this is not just a problem for Baekhyun, Xiumin, and Chen but a potential issue for all artists under SM.</i>: cbx are challenging sm on behalf of <b>all SM artists</b>, which ofc, includes the other five in exo.

the other five are still in exo because all eight want to keep their jobs as co-workers, and this gives sm pause to consider: do they force the comeback with only four members? do they cancel the whole album and forfeit profits on a group proven, even post fraudulent laundering accounting, to keep the company in the black? what about how this will look to investors, kakao and big and small investors? (the public is a pawn that is used to menace the artists bc fans are part of the public, corporations don't care about if the public knows they're dirty.) what about all the other fires in the company that need to be put out?

what about teolaegi? what about sehun's impending enlistment? feb 2025 is awfully far away, an sm paperwork error that blew up in their face; while five-member exo ain't the core eight, five is still more wiggle room than four active members to skate by on a forced comeback. but what about all the filming the company had already finished (originally based on 8, then 7, thus what would shaving down to 5 mean?), though the company had dragged and postponed filming, they had filmed too much to throw it all away.

fuck sm though

what about exo? i think exo timed this perfectly; it's a hard kick in sm's ass. yes it sucks that the album and group could get thrown in the sm dungeon. but with contracts auto-extending on the basis on released albums it means these postponements are CODIFIED into their contracts. having that info out there means now we know that if they don't try to make a break for freedom, they might never have enough time to travel and perform and sing before their already injured and exploited bodies are too old to handle the job of an entertainer. it means time is of the essence for the artists too; because currently being an idol is based on exploiting very young children.

like nini said in the rookie kai skit, "You're using my dreams to threaten me?" Waiting for the contract to run out means the further erosion of their bargaining power.

i understand being heartbroken by these revelations. but things like this are always happening behind closed doors, the main difference is now the fans know for certain; because legal attention is being called to look into it, we fans find it impossible to look away. exo is what it is because they were created by sm ent, and that brand and image is maintained by sm, and we fans associate contracted with sm + music = exo. but what about a world where exo handle themselves and change the power dynamic, are trusted to handle themselves as celebrities to move beyond the idol framing?

i think these clarifying questions are a worthwhile pursuit. ofc it's a non-zero possibility that sm will decide to discard exo entirely. but how much will the combined loss of a great-selling idol and a solid boygroup affect the company in the short run, versus if sm give into cbx's demand to be cut from their contracts, given their 11+ years of settlement docs owed to them, and remain full-fledged members of the boygroup exo? if the discarding happens, then exo the brand will have been sacrificed, and three of them risked their careers and dreams.

keep in mind in their statement they said they had small voices, and are frightened. two months ago baekhyun bubbled that he had mixed feelings. he asked fans to trust him, trust them. all the members said to keep waiting, that they want to be active, soon soon soon exo soon. what do you risk by believing they three want to keep being in exo?

now they're asking a question. of all the questions burning up the artists inside, they and the lawyers settled on one. why can't exo have their own paycheck stubs? why aren't they provided hard individual copies of their settlement docs? eleven years of manipulation and intimidation having built up until this point. whether kim minseok, byun baekhyun, and kim jongdae win or lose this lawsuit, at least they have done one thing: took a gasp of air and asked questions that fundamentally disturb the whole basis of the exploitative idol industry, threatening to flip the influential sm entertainment, upside down to reveal it's rotten fraudulent underbelly. and in that one gasp, whether or not it is their career's final breath, these three men use their one moment of freedom being genuine, brave, and vulnerable to ask a very vital question. where's my copy of the settlement docs?