EXO member Xiumin's current agency One Hundred Label accused KBS of favoring its relationship with the artist's former agency SM Entertainment in a statement on Tuesday.

Xiumin, who will be releasing his new album “Interview X” on March 10, sought to appear on KBS’s “Music Bank” on Friday to promote his music but was denied, according to his agency.


One Hundred Label claims KBS unofficially stated that it would be "impossible for Xiumin to appear on its shows, such as ‘Music Bank,’ where SM Entertainment artists are also set to take part."

SM Entertainment girl group Hearts2Hearts is included on the lineup of musicians performing on "Music Bank" this Friday.

"Though it was difficult for us to understand the reasoning, we continued, until today, to reach out to KBS, urging the broadcaster to think about the artist and the fans,” One Hundred Label said. “However, [such requests] have been disregarded. We believe that KBS, a state-run broadcasting station, is obstructing the opportunity of our musician to connect with his fans, solely due to the broadcasting station’s relationship with a particular entertainment company, rather than for other reasonable issues related to his music.”

The agency's claim comes over a year since Xiumin cut ties with SM Entertainment along with his bandmates Baekhyun and Chen in January 2024, claiming that the agency had forced them into unfair contracts and refused to disclose the detailed income breakdown for the singers.

The three EXO members, who had also formed a subunit named EXO-CBX in October 2016, threatened to take legal measures against SM Entertainment on June 1, 2023, but the agency decided to settle the issue with the members two weeks later. The three members, however, demanded the termination of their contracts with SM Entertainment and established their own label, INB100, on June, 23, 2023. In May 2024, INB100 joined One Hundred Label as a sublabel.

"We believe that it is highly unfair for the public broadcaster KBS to have made such a decision, while only reflecting the position of a specific company,” the agency continued. “We deeply regret having to share this disappointing news with the fans.”

The agency added that it will continue to strive to ensure fairness regarding KBS so that Xiumin and other artists will no longer be affected.

A similar claim was made when three members of boy band TVXQ's five-member lineup broke their deal with SM Entertainment in 2009. Kim Jae-joong, Kim Jun-su and Park Yoo-chun claimed that SM Entertainment forced them to sign an unfair agreement, characterized by long-term contracts and an unequal distribution of earnings.

The singers were not seen on major music programs for years, until Kim Jun-su appeared on EBS’s music program “EBS Space” (2004-) in 2015. The three singers opted for solo careers instead, taking part in musicals and acting.

Xiumin's upcoming album is his first major project since joining One Hundred Label. Baekhyun released “Do What You Do” on March 3.

The three members of EXO-CBX had promised to continue their group activities with EXO, but the larger group has not released a new album since July 2023.

BY YOON SO-YEON, YOON SEUNG-JIN [yoon.seungjin@joongang.co.kr]