After a long battle, singer cum actor Lai Kuan Lin has been successful in getting a verdict in his favor. On June 17, the 48th civil office of the Seoul Central District Court finally ruled that Lai Kuan Lin's exclusive contract with Cube Entertainment has been nullified.
The court was addressing the final litigation trial in the case of Lai Kuan Lin VS Cube Entertainment. It can be noted that the singer–actor had previously lost two appeals against Cube Entertainment. The final trial was held as both Lai Kuan Lin and Cube Entertainment failed to arrive at a conclusion.
Transfer of Management Rights
The case was first filed in July 2019 when the singer claimed that Cube Entertainment had transferred his management rights to a third-party Chinese agency without his or his family's permission. He filed a case against the agency demanding that his exclusive contract be nullified.
Seoul Central District Court first heard the case in November 2019 and dismissed Lai Kuan Lin's lawsuit. The verdict came in favor of Cube Entertainment as the court had ruled that there was not adequate evidence to nullify contract.
Lai Kuan Lin's legal representatives made a second appeal. But to the shock of the singer even that was dismissed. This time, the court asked both the parties to solve the matter in terms of mutual agreement through mediation. But both the sides did not budge and due to their stern stances, Lai Kuan Lin and Cube Entertainment failed to come to an agreement.
After the news of failure of mediation became public last month, the Seoul Central District Court announced that it would hold a final trial hearing in this regard. It had also stated that the primary objective of the plaintiff would be considered during the trial.
The Final Ruling
Accordingly court ruled: "The exclusive contract between Lai Kuan Lin and Cube Entertainment is nullified." The court also added that the defendant was responsible for paying litigation expenses.
Thus Lai Kuan Lin has earned freedom from Cube Entertainment. However, it was reported that neither Lai Kuan Lin nor a representative from Cube Entertainment took part in the final trial.
Lai Kuan Lin is popularly known as Guanlin and became popular after he contested in Mnet's Produce 101 Season 2. He had joined Cube Entertainment as a trainee in 2017. The singer had debuted as a Wanna One boy group member.
After Wanna One's disbandment in December 2018, he made his debut in China as an actor. He was cast as the male lead in Chinese drama A Little Thing Called First Love in January 2019. He was cast in youth drama Don't Think About Interrupting My Studies as the main lead opposite Lin Xiao Ran in June 2020.
