Singer and actor Lee Seung-gi has won a lawsuit against his former agency Hook Entertainment (now known as Chogokbam Media) regarding settlement payments, and has revealed part of the court ruling.
His agency, Big Planet Made Entertainment, stated on the 8th, "The plaintiff (Hook Entertainment) failing to pay settlement payments and not providing settlement data is an act of intentionality or at least gross negligence, which constitutes a breach of the high level of trust established between the plaintiff and the defendant (Lee Seung-gi) regarding the obligation to settle album and music revenue." This is part of the court ruling.
This means that Hook Entertainment had a legal and contractual obligation to provide settlement data to Lee Seung-gi, but failed to do so for over 10 years. The judiciary recognized that such behavior is an act that destroys the trust relationship with the artist due to intentionality or gross negligence.
Furthermore, according to the ruling, "Given that the plaintiff was exclusively managing the defendant's album and music revenue-related data, it would have been difficult for the defendant, who had a high level of trust in the plaintiff, to easily recognize that a claim for settlement payments regarding album and music revenue had arisen, especially when the plaintiff was not properly fulfilling their obligations regarding the management of settlement data, preparation of settlement statements, and provision of settlement data." This acknowledges that it was not easy for Lee Seung-gi, as a member of the agency, to assess the transparency of the settlement details while the agency exclusively managed the album and music revenue.
Previously, in 2022, Lee Seung-gi sent a certificate of contents stating that he had not received any settlement for music revenue for 18 years while being with Hook Entertainment, where he had been since his debut, and notified them of the termination of his exclusive contract.
Afterward, Hook Entertainment paid approximately 5.4 billion won in settlement payments calculated by themselves, but then filed a lawsuit claiming the return of 900 million won, arguing that they had over-settled advertising revenue.
In the first trial of the settlement payment lawsuit held on the 4th, the court ruled in favor of Lee Seung-gi, stating, "Hook Entertainment must pay Lee Seung-gi an additional 581 million won."
While continuing the legal dispute over settlement payments with his former agency, Lee Seung-gi directly appealed, "I ask that junior artists who start their careers at a young age do not suffer like I did," leading to the legislative proposal of an amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Development of the Popular Culture and Arts Industry, which imposes an obligation on entertainment agencies to provide settlement details and the underlying accounting records to their artists at least once a year in writing (including electronic documents), known as the "Lee Seung-gi Incident Prevention Law."
Thus, this court ruling is expected to serve as another wake-up call regarding unfair contract practices and opaque settlement systems in the entertainment industry.
[Ji Seung-hoon, Star Today Reporter]
