G-Dragon Receives 60 Billion Won in Settlement, Turning His Agency Profitable After One Year

For Galaxy Corporation released on April 6, G-Dragon received a substantial settlement amount of over 60 billion won from his agency last year. This outcome resulted directly from his aggressive activities throughout the previous year, including world tours, television appearances, and advertisements, which improved the company’s financial performance.

Galaxy Corporation’s payment fees last year amounted to 71.4 billion won, a 31-fold increase compared to the same period the previous year. Considering that payment fees in the entertainment industry primarily consist of artists’ settlement payments, G-Dragon’s settlement amount is estimated to be over 65 billion won, excluding legal and publicity costs. For reference, payment fees during periods when G-Dragon was inactive ranged from 800 million to 2.5 billion won.

After releasing his third solo studio album, “WOMANSHIP,” last year, G-Dragon embarked on a world tour. Starting in Goyang, South Korea, in March, he performed 39 times across 17 cities, attracting approximately 825,000 fans. Billboard estimated that the performances in the United States, Sydney, and Paris alone drew around 120,000 fans and generated revenue of approximately $27.1 million (about 40 billion won in Korean currency).

These activities led to improved financial results for Galaxy Corporation. The company’s consolidated sales for last year reached 298.9 billion won, a 618% surge from the previous year, while its operating profit turned positive at 12.5 billion won. This marked a complete reversal from an operating loss of 18.8 billion won the previous year. Even management-related sales alone surged to 269.5 billion won, a 859% increase from the same period earlier.

G-Dragon’s immense influence also impacted the valuation of his agency. In December last year, Galaxy Corporation received pre-IPO investment and had its corporate value assessed at 1 trillion won, earning it the status of a unicorn company. Its previous valuation was below 500 billion won. Costs related to the world tour contracts also rose sharply to 94.3 billion won, a 619% increase. Industry experts estimate that the revenue gap between G-Dragon and other artists exceeds 100 times.

Galaxy Corporation is considering a potential listing in the United States. Last March, Bob Mackey, vice president of NASDAQ, and Michael Harris, vice president of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), visited the company’s headquarters one after another. Meanwhile, Galaxy Corporation is pursuing diversification of its intellectual property by signing contracts with actors such as Song Kang-ho and Kim Jong-kook this year, in addition to Taemin last year. The company is also accelerating its international expansion by establishing new subsidiaries in the United States and Hong Kong.