G-Dragon’s reported $48 mil. payout sparks buzz — and more still uncounted
G-Dragon / Xportsnews
K-pop star G-Dragon is making headlines again — this time not for music, but for the scale of his earnings, with reports suggesting he received more than 65 billion won (about $48 million) from his agency last year alone.
A Money Today Broadcasting report released Monday cited an audit report from Galaxy Corporation which showed that the K-pop star’s settlement from the company is estimated to exceed 65 billion won.
The figure is based on the company’s 2025 standalone financial statement, which lists approximately 71.4 billion won in “commission expenses” — a category in the entertainment industry that largely consists of artist payouts, aside from costs such as legal and promotional fees.
Industry analysis suggests that after excluding those additional expenses, G-Dragon’s share alone likely reached at least the mid-60 billion won range.
“Some outsourcing costs from G-Dragon’s world tour last year were also included in the commission expenses category,” the agency said.
However, reports said Galaxy Corporation separately recorded about 94.3 billion won in outsourcing expenses under a different account, further fueling speculation about the scale of his earnings.
G-Dragon is also known to earn significant income from music royalties — meaning his total annual earnings could be even higher than the reported settlement figure.
The artist returned to major solo activities last year with his third full-length album, “Übermensch,” followed by a global tour spanning 17 cities and 39 shows, drawing approximately 825,000 attendees worldwide.
His success appears to have translated directly into corporate growth. Galaxy Corporation reported consolidated revenue of 298.9 billion won in 2025, a 618 percent increase from the previous year, while posting an operating profit of 12.5 billion won — marking a turnaround from losses.
This article from Xportsnews is adapted by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.