(Herald Review Star)

Kris and Luhan, former members of Korean boy band EXO, failed to reach a settlement with former agency S.M. Entertainment in the second arbitration process at the Seoul Central District Court on Monday.

The latest development came nine months after they failed to reach an agreement in the first session.

The court in September 2015 recommended that S.M. Entertainment change the 10-year contracts with the Chinese members to seven years, and give the members the authority to pick a third entity to take charge of their management, which S.M. Entertainment refused to.

Kris and Luhan, who belonged to EXO until 2014, filed suit against S.M. Entertainment in May 2014 and October 2014, respectively, to nullify their exclusive contracts with Korea‘s largest entertainment agency. Both argued the agency had violated their individual rights with the decadelong exclusive contract.

EXO debuted in 2012 as a 12-member boy band. However, since Chinese bandmates Kris, Luhan and Tao left, EXO has been a nine-member group, and recently resumed activities with their third album “EX‘ACT,” which was released Thursday.

By Son Ji-hyoung (json@heraldcorp.com)