Lee Ru-ma to receive '2.6 billion won' from former agency... Wins contract money lawsuit in 2nd trial as well

First Trial Followed by Partial Victory in Appeal
Court Rules "Payment Obligation Maintained Even After Contract Termination"

Famous pianist and composer Iruma has won a partial victory in a contract money lawsuit against his former agency and will receive 2.6 billion KRW.

According to the legal community on the 28th, the Seoul High Court Civil Division 34-2 (Presiding Judges Kim Kyung-ran, Kwon Hyuk-jung, and Lee Jae-young) ruled in the appeal trial of Iruma’s contract money lawsuit against his former agency Stomp Music, ordering “Stomp Music to pay Iruma approximately 2.6 billion KRW and delayed interest.”

Previously, Iruma signed an exclusive contract with Stomp Music in February 2001 but notified the termination of the contract in 2010 due to non-fulfillment of settlement obligations and filed a lawsuit.

At that time, Iruma filed a lawsuit to confirm the non-existence of the contract’s effect, and through court mediation, both parties agreed to “terminate the exclusive and copyright contracts, but the agency will continue to pay Iruma the distribution fees such as music revenue according to the contract.” However, later, the two sides disagreed over the revenue distribution ratio, and Iruma filed a separate contract money claim lawsuit in 2018.

Iruma claimed that, as specified in the copyright contract with the agency, 30% of the music revenue was his share. However, the agency argued, “Since the copyright contract ended with the mediation, the 30% cannot be applied as is,” and insisted that about 15% should be applied according to the principle of change of circumstances. This was because Iruma had entrusted his copyrights to the Music Copyright Association just before notifying the contract termination in 2010, which reduced the agency’s revenue from his works.

Lee Ru-ma
Photo by Mind Tailor Music

In response, the first trial court ruled in favor of Iruma. The court explained, “The agency knew at the time of the mediation agreement that Iruma was receiving copyright fees from the Copyright Association under the trust, but nevertheless set the distribution ratio at 30%, the same as the existing contract.”

In the second trial, conducted following appeals from both sides, Iruma claimed, “The parties did not specifically determine the end date of the agency’s obligation to pay distribution fees at the time of mediation,” and additionally claimed distribution fees up to the first quarter of this year. On the other hand, the agency countered, “Since it was agreed in the mediation to pay distribution fees according to the copyright contract, settlement should only be made until July 2019, when the contract ended.”

The second trial court accepted Iruma’s claim, just like the first trial. The court explained, “At the time of mediation, Stomp Music agreed to continue bearing the obligation to distribute fees as long as it earned revenue from Iruma’s works.”

Furthermore, “Looking at the content agreed upon by both parties, although they confirmed the termination of the exclusive and copyright contracts, they did not set the timing for the end of the distribution fee payment obligation,” and judged that the payment obligation continued even after the copyright contract ended.

Iruma began learning piano at the age of five, went to study in the UK, following an elite music course, and returned to Korea in 2001, gaining attention with his debut album ‘Love Scene.’ Since then, he has been actively working as a performer and composer, crossing both popular music and classical genres. In 2020, his 10th anniversary commemorative album ‘The Best Reminiscent 10th Anniversary,’ released in 2011, was reappraised and reached number one on the Billboard Classical chart.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.