'When the Phone Rings' continues to rise in ratings despite a one-week hiatus
Lee Seung Gi officially addresses his dispute with his longtime agency Hook Entertainment through his official Instagram account.
On December 16th, Hook Entertainment released a statement revealing to the media that they have already sent the payment to Lee Seung Gi regarding the unpaid earnings of the singer-actor. They also stated that they don't want to argue with Lee Seung Gi over the settlement issue and already paid a total of 5 billion won (approximately $3.8 million).
Last month, Lee Seung Gi broke his silence and sent a certification of contents to Hook Entertainment, his agency ever since he made his debut. He asked for the disclosure of his earnings. At first, the agency denied the allegations but media outlet Dispatch shared proof of the unpaid earnings of Lee Seung Gi for his music career. Lee Seung Gi also gave an additional statement through his legal representative about the unpaid earnings and threats the singer-actor experienced. Hook Entertainment's CEO denied it at first then apologized and shared that she will pay for everything that she owed Lee Seung Gi.
On the afternoon of December 16th, Lee Seung Gi broke his silence and gave his statement regarding the payments and the current issue.
Here's the official post of Lee Seung Gi on his Instagram account:
In the post Lee Seung Gi made, the singer-actor shared that he received a total of 5 billion won (approximately $3.8 million) in his bank account on the morning of December 16. Lee Seung Gi shared that Hook Entertainment seemingly thought that the singer-actor took legal action only because of money.
He revealed that he did not file a lawsuit against the agency Hook Entertainment not because of the money only. In the past 18 years, he didn't know about his music profits and has endured being labeled as a "minus singer" (someone with no income as a singer). Because of this, he decided to fulfill the mission of getting justice for people's hard work and getting misused for someone else's greed.
Lee Seung Gi also shared that he never received any of the statements of accounts for the earnings he had for his music and he just received the money without knowing how it was calculated. The singer-actor revealed that he will continue this battle and will still take legal action and will fight in court till the end.
The singer-actor also announced that the money he received as payment will all be donated to those who are less fortunate. Lee Seung Gi will be meeting with charities and alike next week to discuss how this money can be of help to those in need. The amount of money is the fruit of the hardships of Lee Seung Gi from his teens, 20s, and 30s and despite it being a large amount, the singer-actor decided to donate all the money he will get from the unpaid earnings starting with the 5 billion won.
Lee Seung Gi also shared in his post how he's not been well for the past few days for feeling resentment, betrayal, and even blaming himself for the issue. The singer-actor also thanked everyone who supported him throughout this issue and made him feel loved.
