Singer and musical actress Ok Joo-hyun, who has been embroiled in controversy for operating without registration, is undergoing a police investigation.
According to Sports Kyunghyang on the 12th, the Namyangju Northern Police Station in Gyeonggi Province has assigned the investigation of the complaint against Ok Joo-hyun's unregistered cultural arts planning business to the investigation department.
According to the complaint, the complainant stated, "This controversy reaffirms that compliance with the law is competitiveness in the cultural industry," and added, "Practices that make exceptions due to social influence or market position undermine the principle of consistent application of the law. Registration is not an option but an obligation, and 'administrative errors' or 'practices' cannot be grounds for exemption."
They continued, "We hope that the investigative agency will conduct a swift and strict investigation and measures in accordance with the law and principles to prevent the recurrence of similar acts and establish norms," and added, "We hope that the standards for responsible planning and management will be clearly established in the cultural industry."
Earlier, it was revealed that the planning company Title Role, established by Ok Joo-hyun in April 2022, and her agency TOI Entertainment are not registered as cultural arts planning businesses.
According to the Cultural Arts Industry Development Act, entertainers who operate as corporations or as individual businesses with more than one person must register as cultural arts planning businesses. Violating this by operating without registration can result in imprisonment for up to two years or a fine of up to 20 million won.
In response to the controversy, on the 10th, TOI Entertainment and Title Role stated, "It is clearly our fault that we could not complete the registration for cultural arts planning business on time," but added, "We did not intentionally evade legal procedures or operate the company illegally."
Ok Joo-hyun also apologized in an official statement on the 12th, saying, "Due to ignorance of administrative procedures, there was a lapse in some procedures, and we failed to complete the registration on time," and stated, "After recognizing the mistake, I immediately took corrective measures and completed the application for registration as a cultural arts planning business on September 10, 2025, and am currently waiting for the registration."
Meanwhile, Ok Joo-hyun is currently meeting audiences with the musical 'Marie Curie' and is also set to appear in the musical 'Red Book,' which opens on the 23rd.
[Lee Da-gyeom, Star Today reporter]
