On the morning of August 19, Luhan’s and SM Entertainment’s legal representatives, Hankyul and BKL, respectively, met for their first court date, since the lawsuit to verify the invalidity of Luhan’s contract with SM was first filed in October of last year.

Regarding the grounds for the suit, Luhan’s camp states, “The lawsuit was filed due to an unfair contract. We also filed an additional suit for SM’s embezzlement and professional negligence.” According to Luhan’s representative, the investigation by the prosecution has ended, and what is left is a decision on the possibility of indictment.

The head judge then said that he heard SM wanted a peaceful resolution, to which SM’s side agreed. However, Luhan’s rep said, “I’m not sure what is meant by a peaceful resolution.”

The head judge inquired, “Isn’t the 30 million won (approx. 25,000 USD) [requested in the lawsuit] the main issue? The judge panel feels that a contract nullification for that is too much.”

Luhan’s side then explained that Luhan did not once receive a proper pay stub for over two years.

SM responded to the claim, stating that it wasn’t a situation where the profits were abundant, and that because Luhan is the one who signed the contract, he knew his earnings. “And Luhan knew that he hadn’t been able to yield benefits in the company yet, and his income wasn’t something that was important to him at the time.”

Luhan’s side shot back that regardless of being in the green or red, a detailed statement should be given, but none were received for two years. “That’s an undeniable violation of the contract. While statements were always requested, it was always pushed back under the reasoning that they had no time. Following, what we want is to receive proper statements and proper payment.”

His side further claimed that despite working nonstop with music, appearances in shows, dramas, and ads, all Luhan received was 10 million won (approx. 8,400 USD), and because they have no documents to verify this, they do not know if what they received is correct or not.

SM went on to dispute the embezzlement claim made by Luhan’s rep, saying that accusing the company of embezzlement because of a payment dispute is not right.

In the end, the judge panel proposed another mediation, to which both sides agreed. The date has been set for September 14.

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