Lee Seung Gi, a singer and actor, attended a hearing at the Seoul Central District Court on Thursday to contest a 900 million won (about $650,000) debt dispute between him and his former agency, Hook Entertainment.

Lee advocated for a more just treatment of artists across the entertainment industry perspective.

At the hearing against Lee Hun Sung held at the Seoul Central District Court, Lee explained, "For the past 18 years, I've had no specific compensation for my work, such as concert activities, album sales, even broadcast activities.

"For the 137 songs he wrote for Hook since signing there in 2004, however, he said music revenue payment has been withheld.

The dispute worsened when Hook Entertainment settled with Lee for 5.4 billion won (around $4 million) only to sue later, alleging the artist owed it 900 million won.

She claims this sum accounts for extra money from sources associated with music and unpaid interest that the agency claims have not been settled.

Lee, in a written statement in court, replied, "I haven't received the proper compensation for my work.

Asking for what I have earned should not be this hard." He added that this is a "very common" situation for many others, especially younger artists, and demanded more transparency and fairness in the music business.

The court said it would consider the arguments in its next ruling, and set a followup hearing to resolve lingering gaps in the case.

Lee's call out for change is issued following the recent implementation of the "Lee Seung Gi Incident Prevention Act," following the still-ongoing issues in the industry regarding settlements and rights of artists.

The singer asked the court to take these wide-reaching impacts into account when he decides his case, noting that separate accounting practices across many agencies can put artists at a disadvantage.