Actor Lee Jun-ki Faces Lawsuit

Lee Jun-ki

By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter

Actor Lee Jun-ki faces a lawsuit as his management agency filed a compensation suit against Lee and his manager identified as Lee for breaking a contract to stash part of his performance fee.

The Seoul Central District Court said Sunday his management agency Mentor Entertainment had filed a suit to demand the actor pay 500 million won ($500,000) in compensation for breaking a contract between the two parties.

In the petition, the agency stated, ``The contract signed in May 2004 stipulates the actor belongs to Mentor Entertainment for five years and must work exclusively for the company. But the 26-year-old movie star recently established his own agency in association with his manager.''

The company claimed Lee had stashed more than one billion won.

``He must be banned from working for the self-established company until the contract with Mentor Entertainment expires,'' the company added.

Lee immediately refuted the allegation.

``I underwent significant financial damage as the company was poor in dealing with tax affairs and profit distribution,'' Lee claimed in a statement. ``I notified the company of contract cancellation in February.''

Lee, born in 1982 in Busan, south Gyeongsang Province, is a popular actor and model. He leaped to stardom by appearing in the epic film, ``The King and the Clown'' in 2006.

pss@koreatimes.co.kr