September 19, 2025
SEOUL – For 11 years, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism failed to penalize a single unregistered entertainment agency, despite a 2014 law requiring all talent management firms to obtain official licenses.
The revelation comes as cases involving singer Sung Si-kyung and musical actress Ock Joo-hyun brought renewed scrutiny to the widespread practice of operating unregistered one-person agencies. The ministry acknowledged that unregistered agencies have long been in a regulatory blind spot.
“Each year we receive three to four requests to check whether certain companies are properly registered,” a ministry official told The Korea Herald on Thursday. “But as far as I know, since the law took effect in 2014, there has not been a single case where an unregistered agency was punished.”
The official explained that most complaints stem from individuals seeking confirmation that a firm offering to cast them is legitimately registered. Unless an unregistered agency violates other provisions of the law and causes direct harm to the public, authorities rarely take action.
Widespread unregistered agencies
According to the ministry, over 5,000 entertainment companies are registered nationwide. Yet many others continue to operate without registration, and a comprehensive investigation to identify them all is “virtually impossible.”
“There’s no way to conduct a full-scale inspection of unregistered companies,” the official said. “We can examine those already on the books, but it’s extremely difficult to track down every unregistered operator.”
The Act on the Development of the Public Culture and Arts Industry, introduced in July 2014, is designed to protect performers from exploitative contracts and bring transparency to profit-sharing in the entertainment sector.
Operating without registration violates Article 26 of the law, carrying penalties of up to two years in prison or a fine of 20 million won ($14,416).
Ministry oversight lax
The ministry’s own lax oversight also contributed to the problem.
According to the ministry, most unregistered agencies were established before the 2014 law and were largely unaware of the new legal requirements. Over the past 11 years, the ministry periodically encouraged unregistered agencies to comply through notices and outreach, including the Korea Entertainment Producer’s Association and the Korea Entertainment Management Association. These efforts largely failed to produce results.
However, recent media reports show that several high-profile cases — including those involving singers Ock, Song Ga-in and actor Kang Dong-won — concern one-person agencies established after 2014. The issue only drew broader attention after Sung’s agency was reported to the police via the government’s online complaint portal, prompting the ministry to announce the new registration guidance period on Thursday.
Ock’s company, TOI Entertainment, founded in 2022, also failed to register, which her representatives blamed on incomplete paperwork and a lack of knowledge of administrative procedures.
Song’s Gaindal Entertainment and Kang’s AA Group, launched in 2024 and 2023, respectively, were also found to be operating without registration.
The raised scrutiny comes as many K-pop stars have also set up their own agencies — including Blackpink’s Jennie, Jisoo and Lisa; Super Junior’s Donghae and Eunhyuk; Momoland’s JooE; and Astro’s Rocky.
The ministry will run a comprehensive registration guidance period until Dec. 31, giving unregistered agencies time to comply voluntarily.
It stressed, however, that agencies registering during the grace period will not be exempt from criminal penalties if they are later found to have violated other provisions of the law or caused harm to the public.