Lee Seung Gi has won a legal battle against his former agency, Hook Entertainment, over unpaid earnings.
The Seoul Central District Court held the first trial for the lawsuit filed by Hook Entertainment against Lee Seung Gi, seeking confirmation of the nonexistence of debt, on April 4th. Only the legal representatives from both sides were present at the hearing.
The court ruled, “Hook Entertainment must pay Lee Seung Gi 587 million won (around $400,000) along with delayed interest. All of Hook’s counterclaims, including demands for additional compensation, are dismissed.”
Lee Seung Gi and Hook Entertainment have been in conflict over settlement payments since 2022. Lee filed a lawsuit stating that he had not received any digital music royalties during his 18-year career since his debut.
In response, Hook sent him a calculated settlement amount of 5.4 billion won ($3.7 million), including unpaid earnings and interest. Lee Seung Gi donated 5 billion won ($3.4 million) of that, excluding legal fees, to society.
Hook later filed a separate suit, claiming they had overpaid Lee for advertising activities and were owed back 900 million won (approx. $613,000) in commission fees. They sought a legal declaration that they had no further financial obligations.
However, Lee’s side argued that 3 billion won (approx. $2 million) in unpaid earnings still remained. Lee even appeared in court during a hearing last November and read a personal petition.
At the time, he stated, “While the rights of entertainers have improved, there are still many young people signing contracts with agencies at an early age. I hope the court will help ensure that aspiring artists do not suffer over settlement issues as I did.”
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