Rumors surfaced October 10 alleging EXO member Luhan has filed a lawsuit against his talent agency, SM Entertainment. This was followed by the release of SM's official statement confirming that the idol is indeed in the process of pushing a case to terminate his contract with the agency.
Regarding this matter, Sina posted a report enumerating reasons why the Chinese K-pop idol has filed termination against his agency.
According the website, Luhan's reasons are as follow:
1. SM Entertainment is not able to give good future development plans for Luhan.
2. There is discrimination in terms of treatment between Korean and Chinese members.
3. The allocations of resources are not reasonable.
4. Experiencing health issues due to over-exhaustion in both body and in stress.
Luhan has been absent in the recent activities of SM's megagroup EXO, particularly in their Bangkok concert, as well as the SMTWON Live in Tokyo concert, which was attended by the agency's a-list idol groups.
Previous reports point health problems as the main reason for his absence, with the agency stating they are following the doctor's recommendation to give the artist a break. Luhan also pointed out that he has been suffering from fatigue and sleeping disorder.
However, fans remained skeptical after Luhan's consecutive absences in EXO activities with some speculated that he has a problem with SM. And as it turned out, the rumors are after all true but still led to an overwhelming response from EXO-L, EXO's official fanbase, as well as members of the K-pop fan community all over the world. Immediately after the news broke, it became a hot topic on the Internet and the hashtag #alwayssuportluhan became the No.1 trending topic worldwide.
According to Sina via Koreaboo, SM sets schedules without consulting artists and informs them only when schedules have been placed.
Luhan has reportedly brought up a concern that while the EXO has gained immense popularity since their debut, "there is no solid plan laid for their progress and growth," the report says. The EXO-member allegedly commented, "It is a working environment where it feels like [we are] robots in a factory."
Also, Luhan reportedly has been requested for acting and advertising opportunities but none of the negotiations succeeded. The report also pointed out that in 2012-2013, EXO-K (EXO's Korean sub-group) had more than 5 endorsement projects, while EXO-M, (EXO's Chinese sub-group) which Luhan is a member, "did not nearly have the same."
Sina reports, again via Koreaboo, that when it comes to individual opportunities in Korea, there is discrimination towards the different nationalities. The report noted that during promotions on different shows, the Korean members have significantly longer screen time than the Chinese members.
According to The Wall Street Journal, shares of SM "dropped by the daily limit of 15%" after the latest lawsuit news broke, "hitting a more-than-one-year-low."
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