Lee Seung Gi gets Rs. 31.14 crores from Hook Entertainment; promises to donate all unpaid earnings for important causes amid lawsuit

Lee Seung Gi's agency Hook Entertainment allegedly withheld the artist’s music earnings for the last 18 years.

By Bollywood Hungama News Network -

December 16, 2022 - 6:26 PM IST

South Korean singer-actor Lee Seung Gi has personally addressed the conflict with his agency Hook Entertainment which allegedly withheld the artist’s music earnings for the last 18 years. Following the reports of unpaid profits, Hook Entertainment initially denied the allegations insisting that all the details regarding the payments were already discussed with the singer and paid him everything he was owed when renewing his exclusive contract in 2021.

Lee Seung Gi gets Rs. 31.14 crores from Hook Entertainment; promises to donate all unpaid earnings for important causes amid lawsuit

However, after Lee Seung Gi’s legal representative released an additional statement refuting Hook Entertainment’s claims, the CEO of the agency apologized and announced that she would personally “take full responsibility” of the matter. According to Korean tabloid Soompi, on December 16, Hook Entertainment claimed that the company has now paid Lee Seung Gi all of his unpaid earnings.

Soon after, the artist himself addressed the matter taking it to Instagram. “I am greeting you for the first time in a while. Hello, this is Lee Seung Gi,” he wrote in the caption of the post. “Honestly, I have not been very well. Getting enraged from the betrayal, frustrated from the disappointment, feeling resentment one day and blaming myself the next, I have been spending my days repeating this.”

“This morning, I received a text message that about 5 billion won (approximately Rs. 31.14 crores) was deposited into my bank account,” he continued. “It seems that Hook Entertainment probably thinks that I took legal action simply to receive money. I have never even received one of those typical statements of accounts for my music profits… They are trying to unilaterally wrap up this case under the pretext of paying the unpaid earnings. Until now, I lived without even knowing that there were music profits that I had to receive. I endured 18 years of being told that I am a “minus singer” (meaning negative profit margin). In this situation, the reason why I filed a lawsuit against Hook is not because of the unpaid earnings. Someone’s hard work and sweat should not be misused by someone else’s greed. I thought that fulfilling this mission is the best I can do."

He added, "I have received 5 billion won now. Of course, I don’t know how this amount was calculated. However, I do not understand Hook’s calculation method, so I think I will continue to fight in court. It will become a tiresome fight, and I want to first apologize for causing fatigue to the public who is watching this occur.”

Lee Seung Gi then went on to promise that “donate” all the unpaid earnings he’ll receive. "Starting with the 5 billion won that was deposited today, excluding the legal aid costs, I will give back the rest to the community,” he added. “This is not a decision I made in a day. The moment I decided on the fight against Hook, I decided to use all of the money I will receive to help those who are in need. I have lived until now without knowing of my music profits. Of course, the 5 billion won I received today is such a big and valuable amount of money to me. It contains the sweat of my teens, 20s, and 30s.. However, if this money can be used for those who are more in need than me, the happiness and value I feel will exceed that of just 5 billion won. Starting next week, I will meet with charity representatives to decide on my specific plans. There are many people who are physically impaired to the point that it is even difficult to move. There are many who have dreams but have to give up in the middle because of their circumstances. There are also those who cannot receive proper treatment even when their lives are at risk. 5 billion won might not be enough to help all of those people, but I will take action beginning with a small step forward. And more than anything, many people supported me through this incident. I received a lot of strength as you felt anger with me and comforted me. Thank you for once again making feel that I am someone who is loved. I will return that love at least a little bit by giving back to society.”

He concluded by writing, “I hope you have a warm holiday season. I will diligently continue down my own path as I always have.”