Taemin Terminates Exclusive Contract with Big Planet Made...Unpaid Amounts in the Hundreds of Millions of Won

Taemin of SHINee, 32, has ended his exclusive contract with Big Planet Made Entertainment ahead of schedule. The decision was made due to unpaid amounts estimated at around 100 million won, as announced by the agency on the 24th.

Taemin debuted as a member of SHINee in 2008 and left SM Entertainment in March 2024, 16 years after his debut, to join Big Planet Made Entertainment. However, he terminated his exclusive contract after only about 1 year and 10 months.

Big Planet Made Entertainment responded to the unpaid amount issue by stating that “normal negotiations and adjustments are underway based on each artist’s contract terms and activity status.” The agency also declared it would “take strong legal action” because the situation could damage the artist’s image.

Big Planet Made Entertainment is a subsidiary of 1HUNDRED LABEL, founded by MC Mong and Cha Ga-won. Unpaid amount disputes have repeatedly arisen under 1HUNDRED LABEL. Last year, allegations surfaced claiming that unpaid amounts for groups under 1HUNDRED LABEL, such as THE BOYZ and the group CHENBAXI (Chen, Baekhyun, SIU), totaled 5 billion won. Additionally, Cha Ga-won, the representative of 1HUNDRED LABEL, was detained on fraud charges worth over 30 billion won, leading to widespread suspicions of corruption among the management.

Meanwhile, Taemin is scheduled to perform as a headliner at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, in April 2026. He will be the first K-pop male solo artist to do so.