Lee Hi Faces Scathing Criticism For Running Her Company Illegally

Singer Lee Hi has come under fire after it was revealed that her one-person agency has been operating illegally.

Lee established 808Hi Recordings in April 2020 and has been heading the agency for over five years. However, according to reports on January 27, the corporation completed its registration as a popular culture and arts planning business with the Mapo District Office only on January 21. This implies that the company has been operating with appropriate registration for approximately 5 years and 9 months.

The corporation was initially founded under the name Lee Hi Co., Ltd. and reportedly changed its name three times in the past several months. According to corporate records, Lee Hi serves as the CEO at this company while her older sister holds the position of internal director, which makes it a family-run company.

South Korea’s current laws require any business engaged in entertainment management to register itself with the local government. Failure to do so might result in a fine of up to ₩20.0 million KRW (about $13,800 USD) or two years in prison. Though the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism had previously offered a grace period lasting until the end of 2025, Lee Hi’s agency failed to complete the registration within the deadline.

Lee Hi’s management company, Duover, issued an official statement regarding this matter, claiming that the singer was not aware that her personal company also needed to be registered separately. They labeled it as a lack of awareness and oversight and apologized for the mistake.

Netizens, however, offered no benefit of the doubt to the singer. Given that ASTRO member Cha Eunwoo‘s family-run business is facing a massive tax scandal at this moment, public sentiment surrounding one-person agencies run by celebrities appears to be extremely volatile at this moment.

• “Seriously… why are there so many criminals among celebrities?”
• “Why are these celebrities acting like this? Seriously.”
• “Why is everyone like this?”
• “Celebrities have such easy lives.”
• “What’s wrong with all of them?”

Meanwhile, recently, 2NE1 member CL was sent to prosecutors over the same issue with her one-person agency. It remains to be seen whether Lee Hi would face similar consequences.

2NE1’s CL Sent To Prosecutors For Alleged Crime, Could Be Jailed If Guilty