Hook Entertainment borrowed $3.5 million from Lee Seung Gi with no interest for management and operation costs in 2013, according to an exclusive Segye Ilbo report. The entertainment company paid him back after seven years in 2020, but it is extremely unusual for a music label to borrow such a lump of cash for such a long period of time from its artist. ŌĆ£ItŌĆÖs highly uncommon for a music label to borrow money from its artist,ŌĆØ one industry insider disclosed. ŌĆ£ItŌĆÖs likely that the management used the celebrityŌĆÖs name to fund the money, or that the celebrity lent to the label on special terms.ŌĆØ ŌĆ£There are tax benefits when you acquire real estate through a corporation,ŌĆØ said another industry insider, ŌĆ£but there needs to be more inquiry on cash flows and tax filings.ŌĆØ In the meantime, suspicions have been raised that he may have been gaslit over his concert performance as well. A fan who went to his concert revealed that he once said, ŌĆ£Thanks to Hook Entertainment for holding my concerts even though they do not make enough profit for a recoup.ŌĆØ The Olympic Gymnastics Arena is an indoor concert hall with 15,000 seats, which is frequently used by world-class pop stars as well as famous Korean singers. The singer held concerts here for four years straight, from 2010 to 2013, but his rep told him that they didnŌĆÖt generate enough profit to recoup their cost. Source (1, 2)
