"It took five years...," Sleepy reacts to finally winning legal battle with TS Entertainment; SECRET and B.A.P members show support

Sleepy has won his final legal battle after five years of disputes with his former agency.

On September 12 KST, the Supreme Court's Third Division dismissed an appeal from the rapper’s former agency, TS Entertainment, in a damages lawsuit the company filed against him. The court ruled in favor of Sleepy, and TS Entertainment will also be responsible for the legal costs. TS had already lost in both the first and second trials but had appealed the rulings.

The Supreme Court stated, "The appeal is dismissed, and the costs will be handled by the plaintiff (TS Entertainment)." They further explained that after reviewing the case records, lower court rulings, and the grounds for the appeal, the arguments did not meet the requirements for a Supreme Court review under the Special Act on Appellate Procedures and thus rejected the appeal.

The legal conflict between Sleepy and TS Entertainment began in April 2019, when Sleepy filed a civil lawsuit seeking confirmation of the non-existence of the validity of his exclusive contract. In response, TS counter-sued, claiming that Sleepy had hidden part of his appearance fees and advertising income earned through social media promotions, demanding 280 million won (~$210,645 USD) in damages. After losing the first trial, TS appealed, but the appellate court also ruled in favor of Sleepy, stating that the fees were paid after the termination of the exclusive contract and were not subject to distribution. The court also ruled that the contract had been lawfully terminated and TS could not claim damages for its termination.

TS eventually appealed to the Supreme Court, but it upheld the previous rulings in favor of Sleepy.

Meanwhile, to commemorate the ruling, Sleepy took to his personal Instagram account to inform followers. He not only shared a screenshot of an article announcing his court win, but also posted a document of the final ruling, writing, "It took 5 years. I finally won the lawsuit filed by my former agency! Thank you to the many people who have supported me so far. I'll show you how I'll work harder and harder from now on! Have a great Chuseok holiday! And thank you very much to Approach Law Firm's Lee Dong Jun for having helped me."

Among commenters who showed their support included celebrities like Sleepy's industry friends Rain, DinDin, Mommy Son (Mad Clown), and 'Transit Love 2's Jung Gyu Min as well as former TS Entertainment labelmates, SECRET's Hana (Zinger) and Ji Eun and B.A.P's Youngjae and Bang Yong Guk.