[Exclusive] "We Haven't Been Paid for Idol Costumes for Months... 2 Million Won Is a Lot of Money for Us" Small Business Owner in Tears

[The Financial News] A small business owner who runs a costume sample studio has complained that an entertainment agency has failed for several months to pay for idol costumes it ordered.
On the 21st, the informant, identified as A, said, "My parents run a costume sample studio," and added, "On October 28 last year, we received a request from an agency to make idol costumes, and we completed the work and made final delivery on December 9."
The idol group wore the outfits made by A's parents to film a music video. They also wore them at a year-end awards ceremony, where they received a grand prize in the Korean popular music (K-pop) girl group category.
However, the agency did not pay the production costs for the costumes and began to delay payment again and again.
A explained, "The staff member who commissioned the costumes told us, 'I don't handle payments myself,' and gave us the contact information for a director at the agency," adding, "On the phone, the director said they would pay by January 15, but we still have not received the money."
After that, A tried to reach them several more times, but could not get through. Messages were also sent via the agency's official social networking service (SNS) account as a Direct Message (DM), but there has been no response at all.
In the end, on the 20th, A sent a content-certified letter to the agency's corporate address and to the representative's home. The letter notified them that if the money was not deposited within three days of receipt, other measures would be taken.
Regarding the costume production costs, A said, "It is 1.4 million won owed to my parents' company and 600,000 won owed to another business we introduced to them, for a total of 2 million won," and lamented, "As a small business, we are really at a loss. It may sound like a lot or a little depending on who you ask, but how are we supposed to deal with someone just disappearing on us like this?"
He concluded, "I would just like to be paid for the work we did on the costumes. I hope this can be resolved smoothly so that the young idols who wore the outfits and are full of dreams do not suffer any harm," adding, "I also hope that the same kind of thing does not keep happening again and again."



gaa1003@fnnews.com Reporter An Gaeul Reporter