Claims that singer MC Mong had attempted to recruit certain members of the boy band EXO continue to surface, despite prior assertions that he had never tried to enlist Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin.

On the 18th, MC Mong's agency, Million Market, told X Sports News that they were "checking" on rumors about MC Mong's attempts to recruit EXO's Baekhyun and Kai.

On the same day, Ten Asia reported that they had "obtained a recording that suggests MC Mong tried to recruit EXO's Baekhyun and Kai." According to the recording, MC Mong is heard saying, "I really want to bring in Kai and Baekhyun," explaining his reasons for wanting to do so.

Previously, in June, Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin had notified SM Entertainment (SM hereafter) of their intention to terminate their exclusive contracts. They cited settlement issues and unfair contracts as their reasons. In response, SM identified an external force's intervention and named Big Planet Made Entertainment as the external force involved.

Some reports stated that MC Mong, who is an internal director at Big Planet Made Entertainment, had met with the three members. However, through his legal representative, Go Yoon-gi Attorney at Law from the law firm Gowoo, MC Mong stated, "I did not make any artificial interventions that could cause disputes between SM and ChenBaekXi." He also clarified that he is not an internal director at Big Planet Made Entertainment.

Following this, SM issued a statement about the contract termination dispute with Baekhyun, Chen, and Xiumin, saying, "We have reached a 'mutual agreement' and realized that there was a misunderstanding on our part about the intervention of a third external force. We take this opportunity to apologize to all those concerned who have been troubled by our statements."

MC Mong captured SM's statement and posted it on his SNS with the caption "THX (Thanks)."

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