EXO members Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin have taken another major step in their increasingly complicated legal battle with INB100. The trio, collectively known as EXO-CBX, appeared before the Seoul Central District Court on September 7 to seek a provisional injunction suspending the effect of their exclusive contracts with the agency.

But the hearing ended in less than 10 minutes — because INB100 did not send a legal representative to court.

The unusually brief proceeding does not mean CBX has already won. Instead, it leaves the next major decision with the court, while a separate lawsuit seeking to have the artists’ exclusive contracts declared invalid continues in the background.

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EXO-CBX INB100 injunction hearing ends in under 10 minutes

The September 7 hearing was held by Civil Division 50 of the Seoul Central District Court, headed by presiding judge Lee Sang-hoon.

CBX had filed the provisional injunction seeking to suspend the effect of their exclusive contracts with INB100. However, the agency was not represented at the hearing, meaning the court heard very little from the other side before proceedings came to an end.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the hearing lasted less than 10 minutes. INB100 had also failed to submit written materials to the court since CBX filed the injunction application.

CBX’s legal representative explained the situation directly to the court, stating:

“채무자(INB100)의 대표인 차가원씨가 구속돼 가처분 신청 이후 연락이 되지 않는다”

The statement explained that INB100’s representative, Cha Ga Won, had been detained and could not be contacted since the injunction application was filed.

That detail immediately adds another layer to what was already a complicated contract dispute.

Still, the absence of INB100 should not be mistaken for a court victory for CBX. The court must independently decide whether the legal requirements for granting the provisional injunction have been satisfied.

And that is only one part of the battle.

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What EXO-CBX is actually asking the court to decide

The September 7 proceeding focused on a provisional injunction, meaning the requested measure is temporary rather than a final determination of the underlying contract dispute.

CBX has also filed a separate main lawsuit seeking confirmation that their exclusive contracts with INB100 are invalid.

The distinction matters.

If the court grants the provisional injunction, the contracts would be suspended until the first-instance judgment in the main lawsuit, according to Yonhap. That could provide Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin with temporary relief from their contractual relationship with INB100 while the larger legal fight continues.

However, the September 7 hearing itself did not determine whether the contracts are legally valid or invalid.

There was no final judgment declaring the agreements invalid, and the court has not simply accepted CBX’s claims because INB100 was absent.

The provisional injunction and the main lawsuit are separate stages of the legal process.

Date	Event	Key detail
June 2023	INB100 established	Baekhyun established the independent label following CBX’s earlier dispute with SM Entertainment
May 2024	Corporate restructuring	INB100 was incorporated into One Hundred Label, led by Cha Ga Won
March–April 2026	Contract termination notices	CBX reportedly notified INB100 that they wanted to terminate their exclusive contracts
August 18, 2026	Provisional injunction filed	CBX filed the injunction after INB100 did not accept the termination
September 7, 2026	Court hearing	INB100 did not appear through a representative; the hearing ended in under 10 minutes
October 13, 2026	Cha Ga Won’s first criminal trial scheduled	The separate criminal case concerns fraud allegations

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Why CBX says it wanted to terminate its INB100 contracts

The current legal confrontation reportedly developed after a breakdown between the three artists and INB100 earlier this year.

According to Yonhap, Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin notified the company in March and April that they wanted to terminate their exclusive contracts.

The artists cited issues including alleged unpaid contract-related payments and settlements.

INB100 did not accept the termination. CBX subsequently filed the provisional injunction on August 18.

Other Korean reports have similarly described the dispute as involving the artists’ claims concerning unpaid settlements.

Those claims remain allegations and have not been established as final findings by a court.

That point is particularly important because the September 7 hearing was not a final trial over the validity of the contracts. The court still has to determine whether the provisional relief requested by CBX is justified, while the separate main lawsuit will address the broader contractual dispute.

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INB100’s connection to Baekhyun makes this dispute even more complicated

There is an especially unusual twist to the current EXO-CBX legal battle: INB100 was originally established by Baekhyun himself.

The label was created in June 2023 after CBX’s earlier dispute with SM Entertainment. Chen and Xiumin subsequently joined Baekhyun’s company, allowing the three EXO members to continue their individual and sub-unit activities outside SM while remaining members of EXO.

At that point, INB100 represented a new chapter for the trio.

But the company’s corporate structure later changed.

In May 2024, INB100 was incorporated into One Hundred Label, the entertainment company led by Cha Ga Won.

That meant the three artists who had moved to an independent label originally established by Baekhyun eventually became part of a different corporate structure under Cha’s management.

Now, that relationship is itself at the centre of a legal dispute.

CBX is seeking judicial intervention to suspend the effect of their contracts and, through the separate main lawsuit, ultimately establish that the exclusive agreements are invalid.

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Cha Ga Won’s criminal case adds another layer to the INB100 dispute

The September 7 hearing also unfolded against the backdrop of a separate criminal case involving Cha Ga Won.

Cha was indicted in August on fraud charges involving an alleged loss of roughly 30 billion won. The supplied reports describe the allegation as being in the 30-billion-won range, with the amount also described as around 3 billion won depending on the reporting convention used in the supplied article.

According to reports, Cha was detained and indicted, with his first criminal trial scheduled for October 13.

The allegations concern an alleged business arrangement involving entertainment intellectual property and an advance payment.

Cha Ga Won has not been convicted, and the criminal allegations remain matters for the court to determine.

His detention nevertheless became directly relevant to the CBX injunction hearing.

CBX’s legal representative specifically cited Cha’s detention and inability to be contacted when explaining why INB100 did not have a representative present at the September 7 proceeding.

So while Cha’s criminal case is separate from the artists’ contract lawsuit, developments in that case have affected the circumstances surrounding the current INB100 proceedings.

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What happens next in the EXO-CBX contract lawsuit?

For CBX, the immediate question is now whether the Seoul Central District Court will grant the requested provisional injunction.

The September 7 hearing did not answer that question.

Instead, the court must consider the material available to it and determine whether the legal requirements for temporary suspension of the contracts have been met.

If the injunction is granted, the contracts would be suspended until the first-instance judgment in the main lawsuit, according to Yonhap.

But even that would not represent the final resolution of the dispute.

The separate main lawsuit is seeking confirmation that the exclusive contracts with INB100 are invalid. That case will ultimately address the underlying legal question of whether CBX’s challenge to those agreements succeeds on its merits.

Until those decisions are made, neither CBX’s allegations concerning unpaid settlements nor INB100’s contractual position should be treated as finally established by the court.

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Why this could become another defining legal chapter for EXO-CBX

For Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin, this is not their first major contract confrontation.

The trio were already at the centre of a highly publicized dispute with SM Entertainment several years ago.

Following that conflict, Baekhyun established INB100, with Chen and Xiumin joining the label. The arrangement allowed the three members to pursue individual and sub-unit activities outside SM while continuing their membership in EXO.

What followed was an unexpected corporate evolution.

The company Baekhyun originally established became part of One Hundred Label’s structure, led by Cha Ga Won. Now, the same three artists are asking the courts to suspend their contractual relationship with INB100 and have separately challenged the validity of those agreements.

That makes the September 7 hearing significant despite its remarkably short duration.

The court appearance lasted less than 10 minutes. INB100 did not send a legal representative. No final ruling was issued. Yet the proceeding has moved the dispute into another critical phase.

For now, CBX has not received a final court ruling that their contracts are invalid, and the court has not granted the injunction based solely on the September 7 hearing.

The next major development will be the court’s decision on the provisional request.

After that, the larger contract-validity lawsuit will determine whether EXO-CBX’s legal challenge to their INB100 agreements ultimately succeeds.

For fans watching the situation unfold, the story is far from over. What began with an independent label created by Baekhyun has now developed into a court battle involving contract-termination claims, alleged unpaid settlements, a provisional injunction, a separate contract-invalidity lawsuit and a parallel criminal case involving INB100’s representative.

The September 7 hearing may have been extremely short.

The legal fight behind it is anything but.

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Disclaimer

This article is based on a thorough review of the publicly reported court developments and media reports provided as sources, including Yonhap News Agency, Korea JoongAng Daily, Sports Donga and BNT News, with information available as of September 8, 2026.

Allegations concerning unpaid settlements and the criminal case involving Cha Ga Won remain subject to legal proceedings. Cha Ga Won has not been convicted, and no allegation concerning CBX, INB100 or Cha Ga Won should be treated as a final finding of wrongdoing unless established by a court. The September 7 injunction hearing also did not constitute a final ruling that CBX’s contracts with INB100 are invalid.

Sources

• Yonhap News — EXO-CBX contract injunction and main lawsuit report
• Yonhap News — Initial report on CBX’s injunction against INB100
• Korea JoongAng Daily — EXO-CBX court hearing report
• Sports Donga — CBX’s legal action against INB100
• BNT News — CBX’s contract-suspension injunction report

Featured Image Credit: INB100