K-Pop Singer Ben Faces Court Setback in $700 Million Revenue Dispute with Former Agency
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| Ben / Courtesy of Instagram |
A Seoul court recently doubted the $700 million lawsuit filed by singer Ben from Korea against Major Nine, her former talent agency. According to the court, the suit has nothing to rely on but a "lack of evidence" concerning her demands for settling music revenue of the 14th Civil Affairs Department of Seoul Central District Court through the first round of oral arguments which took place on July 23.
Holding an unforgiving attitude toward Ben's settlement calculations, the judge of the court who is out for the case inquired how the figures jumped so much from 30m to 739m, making it appear as if the singer has indeed become more frustrated in the lawsuit, which is not yet settled, in one of the entertainment industry’s cases. Alleged judge officials went further in mentioning the inclusion of what is called "inequitable expenditures" such as solicitor's fees, promotional costs, and channel airing outlay, which the singer said the agency should cover. The judge questioned if Major Nine was to take the lead on the minus side. Ben's legal team argued that the agreement is so vague that it is not clear who should be assigned the agency as the defendant's mover, while the court's opinion was that such global payouts might be unfair to artist-agency bonds, the higher-ups warned powerfully.
Two parts of Major Nine's lawsuit were that they were transparent legally and that they had made a change in their settlement procedure. According to them, their distribution method was altered in December 2019 to a 50% profit-sharing model after cost deductions from a 20% total sales distribution. The company's representatives asserted that marketing costs were never subtracted while Ben was under an active contract period up to November 2019. The speakers mentioned, however, that they were limited in revealing the names of the persons they have business with because it was confidential, and further confirmed that Ms. Ben did not object to those transactions during the time that she had been with the company, which began after the dissolution of their group Bebe Minyong in 2012 and when she had already been successful in a solo career.
The first indication of the legal battle arose in May 2023 and is a reflection of the general industry conflict of interest over the post-contract revenue rights, in particular concerning the music catalog money still coming after the departure of the artist. Mediation methods had already been tested, but without success, as it was seen in the example of November 2023, where Major Nine and Ben were in a conflict that resulted in a lawsuit due to the amount of the settlement mostly, with the company invoking their reputation as the main reason, although in their doubt that the lawsuit would have any success. The court has set the date for the next hearing after Ben's meeting with the professor, Dr. Kim, to discuss her problems with her inner self, reorganize her thoughts, and come to terms with her own weaknesses, which will be held on September 10th, and then the next step for Ben is to pursue his professional challenges and personal changes after his divorce from W Foundation Chairman Lee Wook in 2024, the leader of the company he runs along with her.