The agency of singer Seong Si-kyung and Seong's sister, who is the agency's head, received a suspension of indictment after being sent to prosecutors on suspicion of running a management agency without registering with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
On the 15th, according to legal sources, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office issued a suspension of indictment the previous day for Seong's sister and the agency SK Jaewon, who had been sent without detention on charges of violating the Popular Culture and Arts Industry Development Act. A suspension of indictment means the allegation itself is acknowledged, but the suspect is not brought to criminal trial after considering various circumstances.
Earlier, they were reported to police in Sep. last year for not being registered for popular culture and arts management with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Under the Popular Culture and Arts Industry Development Act, corporations and entertainers and entertainment agencies operating as sole proprietors with more than one person must also register as popular culture and arts management businesses to operate.
Police did not refer Seong Si-kyung, who had been reported along with them, on the grounds that no objective evidence was found to show direct involvement in running the agency.
At the time, SK Jaewon said it did not recognize that the duty to register had been newly established when the Popular Culture and Arts Industry Development Act was enacted in 2014 after the corporation was founded in Feb. 2011.