Celebrity

The future of Hook is expected to be dark even if they have a safe farewell with Lee Seung Gi 

The ongoing dispute with Lee Seung Gi is likely to negatively affect Hook’s future.

Lee Seung Gi sent an exclusive contract termination notice to Hook Entertainment (hereafter referred to as Hook). The 18-year history that turned into a bad relationship is set to end, but even if Hook and Lee Seung Gi go through a ‘safe farewell’ afterward, Hook’s future is not expected to be very bright.

◆ 0 won of music revenue settlement for Lee Seung Gi → Embezzlement scandal

The controversy over non-payment of music revenue settlement between Lee Seung Gi and Hook arose last month. On November 15th, Lee Seung Gi sent a certificate of contents to his legal representative to disclose the details of the settlement. He did not receive a single penny of his music revenue so far. 

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Lee Seung Gi asked Hook to disclose the details of the distribution of all albums so far, and to settle unpaid music payments based on this. As Hook denied the fact of non-payment through an official position, a battle took place. In the process, the image of Hook and its CEO Kwon Jin Young, fell to the ground.

In particular, after the initial controversy erupted, public opinion turned negative as a recording of CEO Kwon Jin Young’s abusive language to Lee Seung Gi’s manager was released. 

In the process, the fact that Hook received 4.725 billion won from Lee Seung Gi as an investment in 2011 and bought a building in Cheongdam-dong also caused controversy. At the time, Lee Seung Gi invested at the suggestion of CEO Kwon, but Hook, not Lee Seung Gi, became the sole owner of the building. The profits generated from the building were not shared with Lee Seung Gi. Lee Seung Gi’s money was treated as a simple loan. If it was a jointly owned building, half of the 8.2 billion won, the market profit of the building, should have been Lee Seung Gi’s share, even if income such as monthly rent was excluded.

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Here, suspicion of embezzlement was raised due to CEO Kwon’s misappropriation of corporate card. In fact, over the past six years, CEO Kwon spent 2.8 billion won with a corporate card, among which 1.8 billion won was spent at a luxury store, and suspicions that Kwon’s mother or an acquaintance who was a former employee at a luxury store were provided with the corporate card further aggravated public opinion.

In the end, CEO Kwon apologized on November 30th. When the report on the misappropriation of the corporate card came out, he said, “I will not avoid my responsibility and dispose of my personal property.” 

◆ What is the future of Hook, which is sinking?

In the future, even if Lee Seung Gi breaks up with Hook and receives his settlement money safely, the aftermath of the incident is expected to continue. As the CEO is suspected of gaslighting his singers and embezzling the profits, it is expected to be difficult for Hook to continue to function as a management company. 

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In addition, on November 10th, before the dispute with Lee Seung Gi surfaced, Hook was raided by the Severe Crime Investigation Division of the National Police Agency. It was reported that some executives were suspected of embezzlement, and after that, the suspicion of embezzlement of 2.8 billion won by CEO Kwon arose.

As a result, the company is virtually in a state of paralysis. All of the artists under the agency are also suffering. Lee Seon Hee has been engulfed in suspicion that she knew about Lee Seung Gi not receiving payments for his music releases but stayed silent. Reports also surfaced that Youn Yuh Jung, the pillar of Hook, was contemplating a transfer. In addition, Park Min Young was once again at the center of controversy due to Hook’s police raid following rumors of her romantic relationship with Kang, who is believed to be the real owner of Bithumb.

Source: Daum. 

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