Singer Lee Hi's one-person agency, which she founded, was later revealed to have not been registered as a popular culture and arts planning business, and the agency said it recently completed the registration process.
Lee Hi's agency, Doover, told OSEN on the 27th, "Because Lee Hi signed an exclusive contract with our company and has been working under that contract, she did not recognize during that process that a separate registration as a popular culture and arts planning business was required for an individual business operator."
It added, "Accordingly, she completed the related training belatedly and recently finished the registration process."
The agency said, "This occurred because of the ignorance and oversight of both the company and the artist. We apologize for causing concern, and going forward we will more thoroughly check relevant laws and procedures and act cautiously so that the same thing does not happen again."
Earlier that day, Field News reported that the one-person agency 818highrecordings, which Lee Hi established in 2020, had been operating illegally without being registered with the competent authorities.
Under the Popular Culture and Arts Industry Development Act, entertainers operating as corporations or as individual business operators exceeding one person must register and operate as a popular culture and arts planning business. Violating this and operating without registration itself can be punished by up to two years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won.
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]