Statistics from the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) have shown many legal issues between entertainment agencies and their trainees and celebrities.

On September 12, assembly member Kim Soo Min of the Bareunmirae Party and the National Assembly’s Culture and Tourism Committee spoke about an analysis of data on legal consultations for trainees or celebrities at entertainment agencies. It showed that there were many instances about breaches of contract or requests for money for educational or investment reasons.

Out of 163 legal consultations from May 2017 to August 2018 outlined in the “Breakdown of Legal Consultations in Popular Culture and the Arts” submitted by KOCCA, 75 of them were legal counseling for trainees and celebrities. Most of them were about complaints and accusations related to unreasonable demands for money, or were about breaches of contract.

In January, trainee “A” requested legal counseling after they were cast on the street and the agency requested money from the trainee for educational purposes.

In March, rookie celebrity “B” asked if it was legal for an agency to ask for money for investment purposes while signing a contract for someone to debut as an idol.

There was also a consultation with a parent of rookie celebrity “C” who wanted to terminate a contract and press charges of fraud against an agency for not doing anything for “C” after accepting money and signing an exclusive contract.

In addition, an inquiry was received about whether it was alright for an agency to make a young celebrity work until dawn. Last month, an agency asked if a young celebrity under the age of 16 could work after midnight. Another agency asked if parental approval was needed for a young person over the age of 15 to work until 11 p.m.

Kim Soo Min said, “Recently, there have been cases of improper entertainment agencies requesting money from youth who are dreaming of becoming a celebrity. Trainees and rookie celebrities should check to see If their agencies are formally registered with KOCCA or if they’re registered as a private academy under the private academy business law.”

Under the current law, entertainment agencies must register with KOCCA. If an agency wants to receive money from a trainee for educational purposes, it must first be registered as a private academy.

Source (1)