Singer Lee Mu-jin. [Newsis]
Singer Lee Mu-jin. [Newsis]

Singer Lee Mu-jin has won a court injunction suspending his exclusive contract with his agency after claiming he had not received settlement payments, freeing him to pursue entertainment activities independently until a final ruling is issued.

The 50th Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday granted Lee's application to suspend his exclusive contract with Big Planet Made Entertainment.

The court ruled that the contract between Lee and Big Planet Made would remain suspended until a verdict is reached in the main lawsuit.

The court also ordered Big Planet Made to refrain from negotiating or signing contracts with third parties on Lee's behalf, demanding that he carry out entertainment activities against his will, or requesting that third parties bar him from working.

Lee's side had filed for contract termination and brought the lawsuit after claiming he had not received settlement payments for the second through fourth quarters of last year and the first quarter of this year. Unpaid settlements through last year were estimated at 2.1 billion won ($1.37 million).

Lee rose to public prominence in 2020 after appearing on JTBC's "Singer Again — Unknown Singer Battle," where he finished third. He went on to release a string of hit songs, including "Traffic Light," "Do You Have a Moment" and "Episode."

Big Planet Made Entertainment is a label under One Hundred, a group led by Cha Ga-won, chairman of Piark Group. The agency came under scrutiny after Cha was placed under investigation on fraud charges involving 30 billion won ($20.7 million). The legal troubles triggered a wave of contract terminations from artists on the label, including Lee, singer Taemin, The Boyz, Bbibbi and Bio.


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com