TS Entertainment recently revealed that they have filed a damage suit against their former artist, Sleepy.

Sleepy and TS Entertainment have been engaged in a public legal battle ever since it was announced that Sleepy had left the agency after filing a request to terminate his exclusive contract. Both parties have conducted interviews and released documents related to their dispute. Most recently, Sleepy has refuted claims by TS Entertainment that he had lied about the poor living conditions in his dorm.

On December 18, a legal representative of TS Entertainment stated, “On December 9, we filed a lawsuit against Sleepy for breach of contract and other damages to a total of 280 million won (about $240,000).”

The legal rep continued, “The exclusive contract between TS and Sleepy has been terminated, but Sleepy is damaging the reputation and good name of our client by spreading lies about his home’s electricity and water being shut off. We can no longer stay silent.”

According to the legal rep, TS Entertainment began offering Sleepy their management services starting October 10, 2008. “It wasn’t in the contract, but TS also helped support his personal living expenses,” the rep said. “Sleepy has spread false news and rumors about how our client didn’t pay him according to the exclusive contract. On April 16, he filed a request to confirm the invalidity of his exclusive contract, and on May 14, he filed a request for an injunction to suspend his contract.

“Sleepy failed to win that injunction case, and instead our client discovered that Sleepy had hidden parts of his TV appearance fees and social media marketing fees from them. According to the exclusive contract, the celebrity must divide payments from entertainment activities and commercials with the agency, but Sleepy did not do this with his payments. This is a clear breach of contract. [Our client] did not know about these payments and continued to support Sleepy’s personal living expenses.

“Because Sleepy hid his TV appearance fees and commercial fees, we predict that the actual amount of damages is much higher than the amount our client has named. In the course of our lawsuit, if we learn more about the exact amount Sleepy kept hidden, then we will extend our claim for damages.”

Sleepy responded to these statements from TS’s legal representative in an interview with an SBS funE reporter. He said, “I used to hear threats from TS employees like, ‘You’ll never be able to go on TV again.’ I was scared a lot in the past. But I’m not scared now. I’m going to fight this properly in court.”

He continued, “This is something that can be solved by transparently revealing my expense reports and receipts from the time I promoted [with the agency]. The public will also know the truth. I have almost twenty text message warnings I received about my electricity and water being shut off due to unpaid utility bills. Why would I lie? This time-consuming fight is frustrating.”

Sleepy’s own legal representative stated, “TS’s written complaint has not yet been delivered to us, so we do not know the exact contents of the lawsuit. After we receive it, we will submit the documents that will prove the truth to the court and fight the suit.”

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