On September 5, the National Assembly’s Committee on Culture, Sports and Tourism held a plenary session and approved a revised draft of the Law on the Development of Popular Culture and Art Industry, sending it to the Legislative and Judiciary Committee.
This amendment, dubbed the “Lee Seung-gi Law,” which requires entertainment companies to provide revenue settlement details even if the artist does not request them, was approved by the Culture Committee in the 21st National Assembly, but was scrapped at the end of the legislative session before it could be approved by the Judiciary Committee.
The original bill discussed in the 21st Assembly set the frequency of revenue disclosure at least once a year, but the current bill allows for that frequency to be set by presidential decree.
On the other hand, Lee Seung-gi has been in conflict with his former agency, Hook Entertainment, over transaction payments since 2022. He claimed that he has not received any income from music-related activities during his 18 years since debut, while Hook Entertainment denied the “zero transaction” claim.
Hook subsequently paid Lee Seung-gi approximately KRW 5.4 billion (approximately USD 4 million), including KRW 2.9 billion (approximately USD 2.1 million) in unpaid settlements and KRW 1.2 billion (approximately USD 900,000) in late payment interest, in addition to the KRW 1.3 billion (approximately USD 973,000) already paid.
Hook also filed a lawsuit to confirm that there are no further debts, while Lee Seung-gi claims that the agency owes him more in advertising revenue.
Source: Daum
