Lee Seung-gi scandal lights Darkside of K-pop

Lee Seung gi The rose, B.A.P

Lee Seung-gi’s recent fallout with his company Hook Entertainment has once again reminded people of the darkness that lies under the spotlight.

K-pop as an industry has been notoriously famous for its unfair treatment of artists. It has repeatedly faced accusations of slave contracts, mismanagement, and excessive work. Many idols have expressed the pressure they face to be perfect on screen and the repercussions of that stress.

Lee Seung-gi’s Case

Lee Seung-gi who is a famous singer and actor recently filed a lawsuit against his managing label Hook Entertainment. He had requested transparent disclosure of payment from his label but they had denied it. Upon more discussions, Lee Seung-gi received the papers. And later filed a lawsuit to terminate his contract with Hook Entertainment due to not receiving profit funds from his singing career for the last 18 years.

The managing label refuted all the allegations but then came out with an official apology. Presently, they have decided to settle all the pending payments and discontinue the contract.

The Rose

Two years before Lee Seung-gi’s case, in 2020 K-pop band The Rose filed a lawsuit for contract dismissal against their managing label J&Star Entertainment. The reason behind the lawsuit was lack of payment and over-excursion of work. At that time they had been traveling on tour without a day’s break.

Sadly, The Rose did not win the lawsuit. But later, The Rose’s official spokesperson American-Korean artist Woosung gave an interview with The South China Morning Post. And confirmed the news that they have sorted out the dispute and do not associate with any label as of now.

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B.A.P

In the year 2014, Boyband B.A.P filed a lawsuit against their managing label TS Entertainment. The reason is that their contract signed in 2011 did not confirm the regulations of the Fair Trade Commission. The boyband claimed that they have not received any payments for more than 7 years.

Hyosung

In 2017, TS Entertainment was again in a negative light. Hyosung a member of the girl group ‘Secret’ filed a lawsuit against than to terminate her contract. She claimed to not have received her due payments and her contract was shared among other companies without her knowledge.

After these controversies, TS entertainment was titled to be the worst k-pop label. In 2021, some rumors were circulating among the insiders of the label closing down due to having no artists active with them.

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Block B

The famous k-pop group Block B filed a lawsuit in 2013, against their managing label Stardom Entertainment for the termination of their contract. They made claims of not having received their due payments on time and the company stealing money from their parents.

Law against the slave contracts

Due to the excessive complaints and lawsuits against unfair and often ridiculously harsh contracts by K-pop entertainment labels, The Fair Trade Commission of South Korea made some changes regarding the regulations of K-pop contracts.

  1. Excessive penalty for terminating the contract before its due date was reduced.
  2. The unfair fees applied on not renewing the contract were terminated.
  3. Canceling contract without prior notice and discussions were terminated.
  4. Immediate payments required for any infringement of the contract were terminated.

These new regulations were introduced in 2009 yet the court had to order many leading K-pop labels to change their previous contract to the new laws in 2017. These slow and repeated faults darken the shadow of the K-pop industry. Lee Seung-gi’s case got sorted out well but we can only hope for a future where clarity between artists and label is no longer optional.

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Source: Naver, FTC

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