The legal battle between Lee Seung Gi and his former agency Hook Entertainment has kicked off.
On June 23rd, the first hearing took place at Seoul Central District Court, where the two parties squared off over the issue of unpaid settlements. Hook Entertainment had previously filed a lawsuit against the singer to confirm the non-existence of debt. Whereas Lee Seung Gi filed a counterclaim against Hook, demanding the settlement money.
Initially, Hook filed the lawsuit intending to demonstrate that no further payment to Lee Seung Gi was due. However, the company later altered its claim, stating that it must recover approximately 900 million won (about $800,000), which was supposedly overpaid to Lee Seung Gi as advertising commission settlement funds.
On the flip side, Lee Seung Gi’s team hit back, claiming that Hook kept deducting 10% from advertising revenue even after the advertising agency’s commission rate had decreased from 10% to 7%. Lee’s legal representatives insist that Hook needs to pay more advertising settlement funds, arguing that when factoring in the advertising agency fee and income from music sales, the singer should receive an additional 3 billion won (about 2.6 million won).
The next court hearing is scheduled for August 25th.
Last year, Lee Seung Gi and Hook’s first legal dispute started when the singer claimed that he had not received a single penny from Hook in music-related earnings over his 18-year career since debut.
>> Lee Seung Gi Presses Charges Against Hook Entertainment’s Former and Current Executives
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