Hook Entertainment CEO says she will “take full responsibility” for controversy over Lee Seung-gi’s alleged unpaid music profits

Hook Entertainment CEO Kwon Jin-young has issued an official statement saying she will “take full responsibility” for the company’s dispute with Lee Seung-gi over alleged unpaid music profits.

News of the South Korean actor’s ongoing public dispute with Hook Entertainment surfaced earlier this month, after it was reported that Lee had requested a full report of his music revenue under the label. At the time, Hook confirmed that it had received Lee’s request, saying it was “working hard to resolve the issue amicably”.

Soon after, Korean news outlet Dispatch published a report claiming that the entertainment company had yet to remunerate Lee for any of his music ventures since he signed with Hook Entertainment nearly two decades ago. Lee’s legal counsel later corroborated Dispatch’s claims in a statement dated November 25, where they claimed that Lee “was not even aware of generating profits from music,” as translated by Soompi. 

Later that same day, Hook denied these allegations. The company went on to claim that both parties have “checked the settlement details” and “wrote an agreement to confirm it” when the actor renewed his contract with it last year. In response to Hook’s most recent claims, Lee’s attorneys published a counter-statement on November 28 maintaining that the singer-actor “never received a statement of accounts for his music profits”, per Soompi. 

“What is certain is that Hook Entertainment purposefully hid from Lee Seung-gi the truth that profits from music were being generated and that profit settlements based on accurate breakdowns and evidence did not occur,” they said, expressing their “deep regret” over Hook’s denial of these allegations. The actor’s lawyers also clarified that the 2021 agreement mentioned by Hook was regarding a real estate investment he made with the agency 10 years ago, and not about his music profits.

Today (November 30), Hook CEO Kwon apologised in a statement to South Korean media – including YTN – and stated her intention to “take full responsibility” for the situation. “I believe that any quarrel or misunderstanding should be followed by responsibility at the beginning and end,” she wrote, according to translations by Soompi. “I do not want to cause any harm to Hook Entertainment, the company I have established with all my 25 years, as well as to the celebrities. Once again, I bow my head and express my apologies.”

Kwon also added that she will “not shirk my responsibility and dispose of my personal property to carry out my responsibility”, though she did not detail the steps she intends to take to do so. Kwon also did not clarify or respond to the claims from Lee’s legal representatives regarding his real estate investment or the status of Lee’s alleged unpaid music revenue.

“I am sorry to all the staff at Hook Entertainment, who must have been living in hell every day due to the sudden incident, and to everyone who learned about this unwanted news,” Kwon concluded in her statement.

Neither Lee nor his legal counsel have responded to the latest statement from Kwon at the time of publication.

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