Not Receiving a Dime in Royalties, K-Pop Artists Sue Agencies

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By:

Team of Hukumindo

Previously, the www.hukumindo.com platform has talk about "YouTuber Arrested After Visiting Isolated Tribe Island", "Giant US Tuna Company Sued for Alleged Abuses in Its Supply Chain", you may read also "Man Arrested on Felony Battery Charges in Florida" and on this occasion we will discuss about 'Not Receiving a Dime in Royalties, K-Pop Artists Sue Agencies'.

After a long drama full of intrigue and uncertainty about royalties, Lee Seung Gi finally won a lawsuit against his former agency, Hook Entertainment. The actor and singer finally emerged from the dark times full of injustice. Since his debut as a singer in 2004, Lee Seung Gi has released 137 songs. But sadly, he has not received a single penny in royalties from those songs for more than 10 years.[1]

In fact, from the sale of his music, the income generated is estimated to be around 9.6 billion KRW or around Rp. 115 billion. So where did the money go? Hook as the agency that used to oversee Lee Seung Gi apparently failed to provide financial reports that should have been Seung Gi's rights. Worse still, the records from 2004 to August 2009 were lost who knows where. The court stepped in and finally declared that Hook was negligent or even intentionally hiding income data from Lee Seung Gi.[2]

'Big Planet Made' as Lee Seung Gi's new agency finally leaked part of the court's decision. The content is that Hook was severely reprimanded by the court for violating trust and contract. "Hook maintains exclusive control over Lee Seung Gi's music revenue data, making it difficult for the artist to recognize breaches of contract or unpaid royalties." Lee Seung Gi began to speak up about this problem since 2022. Not remaining silent, he immediately sent a letter of termination of the exclusive contract and demanded his rights as a singer. As a result, he succeeded in becoming one of the first Korean idols to dare to speak up about the royalty system which is sometimes still dark.[3] And if you have any legal issue in Indonesia territory, contact us for business inquiry, feel free in 24 hour, we will be glad to assist you. 

*) For further information please contact:

Mahmud Kusuma Advocate

Law Office

Jakarta - Indonesia.

E-mail: mahmudkusuma22@gmail.com

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References:

1. "Drama Royalti Lee Seung Gi Vs Hook Entertainment Tamat, Siapa Kena Skakmat?", www.detik.com., Dicky Ardian, 09 April 2025, Diakses pada tanggal 11 April 2025, Link: https://www.detik.com/pop/korean-wave/d-7859925/drama-royalti-lee-seung-gi-vs-hook-entertainment-tamat-siapa-kena-skakmat.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.