HOOK Entertainment Denies Accusations Of Not Fulfilling Payments To Lee Seung Gi In New Official Statement
Actor Lee Seung Gi has been in a feud with his agency, HOOK Entertainment, over the past few days. It was revealed that he had not been paid for his musical activities as a singer since his first release 18 years ago. The unfair payments and shady dealings with Park Min Young‘s infamous ex-boyfriend led to Lee Seung Gi requesting the accounts from the company. On November 23, Dispatch allegedly released a disturbing audio recording of HOOK Entertainment CEO Kwon Jin Young, in which she threatens to spend the rest of her life trying to “Kill Lee Seung Gi.”
In response to all these plentiful accusations, HOOK Entertainment has released a new official statement to counter the claims.
Hello. This is HOOK Entertainment.
Firstly, in light of having shown our wrong sides to everyone due to the continuous lousy press and our feud with Lee Seung Gi, we wish to say sorry and that we are too embarrassed to face everyone. In particular, we want to say sorry to Lee Seung Gi, who is having a hard time due to this matter. We also bow our heads in apologizing to those hurt by the wrong words and actions of our CEO, Kwon Jin Young.
As previously mentioned in articles, we are organizing accurate materials to address the evidence from Lee Seung Gi’s legal representation. But it is a pity unconfirmed claims are happening in the media.
When our exclusive contract with Lee Seung Gi ended in 2021, and we were signing a renewal, both parties checked the records of payouts, and we completed the financial payout responsibilities between us during that time. This was confirmed with Lee Seung Gi, and a written agreement was also made.
Despite this, as Lee Seung Gi brought up an issue, HOOK Entertainment, together with professionals, is reviewing the payouts carefully to Lee Seung Gi, which total a substantial amount. In addition, recently, a media outlet announced the contractual clauses between our company and Lee Seung Gi, including the profit split, etc. They wrongly published that we have yet to issue payments, even once, for digital music streams to Lee Seung Gi.
We plan to take responsibility for and right any mistakes in our work as we organize them in the present. We are sorry that we were unable to show our positive sides of us when trust is essential to maintain the relationship between the artist and the company.
And regarding Lee Sun Hee, she has been an artist with us from the start, so we registered her name as a director in the company as a show of respect and gratitude. But from 2006 to 2021, Kwon Jin Young has been shareholder of 100% of the company shares as a sole owner company, and Lee Sun Hee does not gain any financial profits as a director. We will not remain silent when our artists are being slandered or hurt by related speculation and taking concrete legal action.
Thank you.
— HOOK Entertainment
Lee Seung Gi has not addressed the counter yet.