Lee Seung-gi Opens Up About Abuse During Trainee Days and Lack of Basic Rights

On the morning of May 24th, Lee Seung-gi appeared at the Seoul Central District Court for the second hearing of the debt non-existence confirmation lawsuit filed against him by Hook Entertainment (Hook). He read his petition aloud during the hearing.

Lee Seung-gi started off by stating, “I was under Hook Entertainment from my teenage years until my thirties. Had they been honest and open about the presence and resolution of music royalties, I believe this situation could have been avoided.”

In his statement, he expressed his disbelief that an artist with experience and recognition could have been unaware of basic rights for as long as 20 years. He also shared his own experience of enduring verbal and physical abuse from CEO Kwon Jin-young while preparing to become an artist. The CEO’s hurtful words, such as “I could raise anyone off the street better than you,”greatly damaged his self-esteem.

He stated, “This occurred frequently over the course of several years. My parents were made to feel like criminals for trusting her. CEO Kwon even forced my parents to cancel insurance policies and pensions, resulting in financial losses.”

Moreover, he explained, “In 2021, when I discovered the concept of music royalties and requested to see the settlement statements, she sadly replied, ‘How can I give you money when you are not a successful singer? I never advised you to protect your pride.’ Despite my request for the settlement statements to continue my music career under my own corporation, she insisted they did not exist, ultimately bringing us to this point.”

Lee Seung-gi and Hook Entertainment have been at odds over payment settlements since 2022. Lee Seung-gi states that he did not receive any income from his music for 18 years after his debut, while Hook Entertainment denies this, stating that the allegation of “zero settlement”is false. As a result, Hook Entertainment paid Lee Seung-gi 5.4 billion won. However, Lee Seung-gi maintains that Hook Entertainment should compensate him further for advertising settlements.