Lee Seung-gi’s U.S. concert controversy: Conflicting claims between agencies

Singer and actor Lee Seung-gi‘s U.S. concert schedule has become a topic of controversy. The local concert planning agency that organized Lee Seung-gi’s U.S. concert schedule claimed that they had already shared the information with Human Made (Lee Seung-gi’s agency) CEO Jang Jae-ha and the head office before departing from Korea and that they had never agreed to hold a fan meeting.

However, Human Made refuted this claim, stating that the details were not mentioned in the contract and that the schedule was unilaterally sent to them by the agency.

Both sides are now pointing fingers at each other, and it is expected that the dispute will intensify in the future.

A representative from Hu Entertainment stated on the 14th, “Originally, we were planning to hold concerts in Los Angeles (LA), Atlanta, and New Jersey, but due to poor ticket sales in Atlanta and New Jersey, we had to consider canceling the concerts to minimize losses. We informed Human Made of this. However, if two out of the three concerts were canceled, it would have a significant impact on the artist’s reputation. So, we requested to proceed with only the Atlanta concert, and an agreement was reached.”

They further explained, “Human Made’s explanation that the New Jersey concert was canceled due to the circumstances of the venue is false.”

According to Hu Entertainment, when they informed Human Made about the cancellation of the Atlanta and New Jersey concerts, the New Jersey concert, which had a capacity of 2800 seats, had sold only about 180 seats, and the Atlanta concert, with a capacity of 2800 seats, had sold about 350 seats. It was clear that losses would occur, so Hu Entertainment initially considered canceling both concerts. However, due to Human Made’s circumstances, they proceeded with only the Atlanta concert. However, they planned to compensate for the resulting losses by receiving sponsorship from local restaurants.

According to Hu Entertainment, on the 28th and 29th of last month, Lee Seung-gi, Human Made officials, and concert staff arrived in Atlanta on the evening of the 28th (local time). They had planned to receive sponsorship from five restaurants, including meals on the evening of the 28th, meals on the 29th, catering for lunch at the concert venue on the 30th, and an after-party after the concert.

As a token of appreciation, Lee Seung-gi was to take commemorative photos with the restaurant owners and staff. On the 28th and 29th, photos were to be taken at the restaurants where they had their meals, and on the 30th, photos were planned to be taken at two restaurants at the concert venue.

This information was shared in a group chat on KakaoTalk on December 18th with Human Made CEO Jang Jae-ha, department head, and Hu Entertainment officials. A Hu Entertainment representative even uploaded a file named ‘Advertising Agency and Sponsor’ in the group chat and wrote, “We have conveyed the sponsor’s request and details.”

Earlier, on December 14th, in a KakaoTalk conversation between a Hu Entertainment representative and Human Made CEO Jang Jae-ha, Jang asked, “Even in the case of restaurant photos, it’s photos with the restaurant owners, right?” In response, the Hu Entertainment representative wrote, “It could be with a few restaurant owners and employees, but there has been no agreement to take photos with restaurant customers.” To this, Jang responded, “Yes, I’ve confirmed.”

In addition, on the 28th of last month, before taking the flight in LA, a Human Made official had already sent a KakaoTalk message saying, “In the case of the Atlanta restaurant, depending on the artist’s condition and menu, there may be restaurants that it’s difficult to visit on the same day.” A Hu Entertainment representative claimed, “The message that Human Made unilaterally sent on the 28th showed their intention not to proceed with the schedule, which was not part of the original agreement, even before taking the flight.”

Considering Hu Entertainment’s claims and KakaoTalk messages, the official statement from Human Made claiming that they had never agreed to any form of fan meeting and that the restaurant sponsorship was something that Hu Entertainment unilaterally sent is proven to be false.

A Hu Entertainment representative stated, “Since 2013, we have conducted more than 100 events and concerts, and we have never unilaterally pushed through an unscheduled event without the artist’s agreement. What we hope for is not to damage the artist but to restore our honor, which has been tarnished by Human Made’s lies and incompetence,” emphasizing that they might have to take extreme measures if Human Made continues to assert false claims.

Furthermore, Human Made officials explained that the lack of smooth communication between the two parties was the cause of the current situation. They stated, “Differences of opinion about coordination had arisen even before leaving Korea, and while we were in the U.S., communication with Hu Entertainment was not smooth, and some coercive behavior was exhibited. We could not proceed with the schedule outside of the performance mentioned in the contract,” they said.

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