Actor Lee Jang-woo explained the outstanding payment controversy at the sundae soup restaurant "Hoseokchon" as a "transaction issue," and the representative of Hoseokchon and the trading partner, Mujin Co., Ltd., vigorously denied allegations that they are the same person.
On the 17th, a representative of Lee Jang-woo's agency told OSEN in a phone call that "the report that Hoseokchon representative Son OO is the representative of Mujin is not true."
Earlier, Dispatch reported that the sundae soup restaurant operated by Lee Jang-woo had not paid 40 million won for pork byproducts for eight months. According to the report, Mr. A, who operates a livestock product distribution company in Cheonan, claimed that from Nov. 2023 to May 2025 he supplied pig heads, intestines and other byproducts to the sundae soup restaurant operated by Lee Jang-woo, but the payments were not settled on time. The outstanding payments swelled to as much as 64 million won, and he said about 40 million won or more is still overdue.
In particular, the corporate side of Hoseokchon reportedly told Dispatch, "Lee Jang-woo is not the actual owner. Friend A was the representative, and Lee Jang-woo only helped at the start and was not deeply involved in operations."
But in response, Lee Jang-woo's agency HUNUS Entertainment issued an official statement saying, "Actor Lee Jang-woo participates in Hoseokchon's shareholding and operations. Hoseokchon has already paid the full delivery amount to its contractual trading partner, Mujin Co., Ltd., and the problem arose after Mujin failed to pay Company A the amount due," adding, "There is no direct contractual relationship between Company A and Hoseokchon or actor Lee Jang-woo, and reports suggesting that actor Lee Jang-woo did not pay are not true. Also, reports saying 'Mujin was the owner of Hoseokchon' are not true; Mujin has never held equity in Hoseokchon. Actor Lee Jang-woo has no connection to Mujin." They also disclosed all transfer records showing they paid Mujin about 445.3 million won from Jan. 2024 to last Sept.
Dispatch then, in additional reporting, said that Hoseokchon representative and Lee Jang-woo's 20-year friend Son OO is the practical representative of Mujin Co., Ltd., asserting 'Hoseokchon = Son OO = Mujin.' It maintained that Lee Jang-woo's side's claim that 'Hoseokchon and Mujin are unrelated' is not true.
In response, a representative for Lee Jang-woo told OSEN in a phone call, "Son OO, the representative of Hoseokchon, is not the representative of Mujin. Hoseokchon was initially started with Lee Jang-woo's participation and direct investment. But because he is a celebrity with many outside activities and could not continue to manage it, someone was needed to run things internally, and Son OO used to work as a meat butcher. Because Lee Jang-woo has been friends with him for 20 years and trusted him, he asked Son OO to run Hoseokchon while saying he would handle external promotion and food development himself," explaining the background.
He said, "At first, Lee Jang-woo stayed at Hoseokchon and managed it continuously, but later could not continue, so he established a corporation called Hoseokchon and appointed Son OO as the representative," adding, "Mujin was a company that Son OO had been transacting with for a long time. So Hoseokchon also requested meat supply from Mujin. Mujin procured the meat and handed it over, and Hoseokchon received it, so Hoseokchon paid Mujin 45 million won in full. But Mujin should have paid Company A, and due to managerial problems the payment was delayed, which is the current situation."
The representative said, "Mujin is not a company related to Hoseokchon. It was a trading partner of Son OO. We need to check a bit more who said in the report that 'Son OO is effectively the representative of Mujin,'" and added, "I understand that Mujin's representative has explained the situation to Company A, taking responsibility. They admitted, 'We received all the money but could not pay due to managerial difficulties.' But I need to check why such reports came out," he said, raising questions.
He added, "They went to Company A in Cheonan because the trading partner went to pick up the (meat), so they went along," and said, "It's true that Lee Jang-woo was busy and was negligent in managing the store. He could not manage everything from 1 to 100, so he appointed a friend as representative to run it. But Lee Jang-woo invested most of the money in Hoseokchon. I am not in a position to say whether he operates it or not, because he created it," repeatedly clarifying the facts.
[Photo] OSEN DB, HUNUS Entertainment
[OSEN]