Lee Seung-gi Wins Royalty Payment Lawsuit, Court Recognizes Intentional Nonpayment Over 10 Years

Singer Lee Seung-gi. Big Planet Made

Singer and actor Lee Seung-gi has won a lawsuit over settlement payments against his former agency Hook Entertainment (now Chorokbaem Media) and has disclosed part of the court ruling.

On the 8th, his agency Big Planet Made Entertainment revealed a portion of the ruling stating, "The plaintiff (Hook Entertainment)'s act of not paying the settlement amount and not providing settlement data constitutes an act of intentionally or at least with gross negligence failing to properly fulfill the obligation to settle album and music revenue with the defendant (Lee Seung-gi), thereby destroying the high level of trust formed between the plaintiff and the defendant."

Big Planet Made Entertainment explained that Hook Entertainment had a legal and contractual obligation to provide settlement data to Lee Seung-gi but failed to fulfill this for over 10 years. The judiciary recognized that such behavior was intentional or due to gross negligence, breaking the trust relationship with the artist.

According to the ruling, "In a situation where the plaintiff exclusively managed the defendant's album and music revenue-related data, from the defendant's standpoint, who had a high level of trust in the plaintiff, it would have been difficult to easily recognize that a claim for settlement money regarding album and music revenue had arisen while the plaintiff was not properly fulfilling obligations such as managing settlement data, preparing settlement statements, and providing settlement data."

Big Planet Made Entertainment interpreted this as an acknowledgment that, in a situation where the agency exclusively manages album and music revenue, it is not easy for the signed artist Lee Seung-gi to assess the transparency of the settlement details.

Previously, in 2022, Lee Seung-gi sent a certified letter stating that Hook Entertainment had not settled music revenue for 18 years and had not provided settlement data or payments, and notified them of contract termination.

Subsequently, Hook Entertainment paid approximately 5.4 billion KRW calculated on their own but filed a lawsuit to confirm non-existence of debt, claiming a return of 900 million KRW due to excessive settlement of advertising revenue. On the 4th, in the first trial of the settlement lawsuit, the court ruled that Hook Entertainment must pay Lee Seung-gi an additional 581 million KRW.