Kim Young Min, CEO of popular South Korean record label SM Entertainment, criticised former EXO members Kris aka Wu Yifan, Luhan and Tao at the first Korea-China Music Industry Forum held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza on Wednesday, 7 October.
He said that the "weaknesses in the legal systems of Korea and China" have been utilised by the Chinese entertainers for their personal and short-term gains.
"They only followed their 'selfs,' 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," Allkpop quoted him as saying.
Young Min even spoke about the impact of a legal dispute with SM Entertainment on the singers' professional lives and said that they will miss several career opportunities.
He said the former Kpop stars will not be attending the EXO concert in Japan "that will mobilise over 50,000 people" of Chinese and Korean descent. "In the Asian market, and as Chinese-born artists, I wonder what honor they have. I think it's something to consider," he added.
While Kris and Luhan left the popular South Korean-Chinese boy band in May and October 2014, respectively, Tao terminated his contract with the entertainment agency last April.
However, the CEO revealed that he would not like to argue about the differences between the Korean and Chinese markets. According to him, it is the time for the leaders of the two countries to discuss on how to 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," said the CEO of SM Entertainment.
