Lee Hi apologizes for running unregistered one-person agency with her sister, citing ignorance and oversight

[The Financial News] Lee Hi’s side has apologized after it emerged that a one-person agency she founded had been operating for more than five years without being registered.
On the 27th, Duover Entertainment, Lee Hi’s management company, stated, "Because Lee Hi has been active under an exclusive contract with our company, she did not recognize that her separate personal business entity also needed to be registered as a popular culture and arts agency." The company added, "She has since completed the required training course and recently finished the registration process."
The agency went on to say, "This situation arose from a lack of awareness and oversight on the part of both the company and the artist." It continued, "We apologize for causing concern, and going forward we will more thoroughly review relevant laws and procedures and act with greater caution so that something like this does not happen again."
Earlier that day, Field News reported that 808Hi Recordings, a one-person agency Lee Hi established in April 2020, had been operating illegally without registering with the competent authorities.
According to the report, 808Hi Recordings only completed its registration as a popular culture and arts agency with the Mapo-gu Office on the 21st, a full five years and nine months after the company was founded.
The corporation was initially established under the name IHAI and has been operating while changing its name three times over the past few months.
Corporate registry records show that Lee Hi herself serves as the agency’s CEO, while her older sister, identified only by the surname Lee, is listed as an inside director, making it a family-run company.
The Popular Culture and Arts Industry Development Act requires entertainers and agencies operating as corporations or as individual businesses with more than one person to register as popular culture and arts agencies with the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Those who fail to register may face up to two years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won.
newssu@fnnews.com Kim Soo-yeon Reporter