Tao's side responds to SM Entertainment's press release

SM Entertainment recently released a press release regarding winning a lawsuit against Tao, about him failing to pay back the company for money that he owed.

Tao's side has since released their own press report in response, on Tao's official�Weibo. He added screen captures of emails as proof, as well as an official statement by his workshop.

The following is the statement released by Tao's workshop, translated from Korean news outlet StarNews' article, which was translated from Chinese:

On January 5, 2016, SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. told the media, "Among those is the 'temporary payment claim' lawsuit against Tao made on October 13, 2015, where Tao violated the duty to repay. It has been ruled by the�Intermediate People's Court�in the Qingdao, Shandong, China that Tao should repay SM Entertainment for the temporary payment that he has delayed to pay back."

SM Entertainment's statement had parts that did not coincide with the truth.�We as Tao's workshop are releasing our own statement in order to protect Tao's honor and argue about what is right or wrong.

First, on April 2015 before Tao officially brought up the topic of terminating his contract with SM Entertainment, both sides were in negotiation. Since it was before Tao left SM and EXO, paying back the temporary payment to SM is a voluntary action.

Second, SM Entertainment stated, "However, even though Tao clearly knew the bank account of the concerned party, he failed to pay back the amount in the promised time." They stated something that was different from what actually happened and hid the truth.�

Tao always followed the�'sportsmanship of a contract' and 'God's principle of integrity'. In order to implement the duty to repay the temporary payment within the time period, through a representative, Tao asked for SM's bank account. He did not violate the contract or negotiation.

But SM Entertainment did not give a specific answer, nor did they give Tao's representative the account of the entertainment remittance (sum of money sent). SM Entertainment's intention was to draw out time so that they would curse Tao with a 'temporary payment claim' lawsuit.

Third, SM Entertainment's statement's deliberately used exaggerated expressions and expanded the translation of Tao's temporary payment lawsuit. They created an adverse effect towards the cultural exchange between Korea and China and through moral criticism, turned the public opinion into a negative direction.