Actor Lee Jang-woo's sundaeguk restaurant has been embroiled in a dispute over unpaid food ingredient bills, and he insisted he was wronged by releasing specific deposit details.
On the 17th, Lee Jang-woo's agency HUNUS Entertainment said in an official statement that "Ho-seokchon (the sundaeguk restaurant operated by Lee Jang-woo) has already paid the full supply payments to Mujin Co., Ltd., its contractual transaction partner."
According to materials released by Lee Jang-woo's side, Ho-seokchon paid a total of 443.5 million won over about nine months from January 2024 without missing any monthly payments. In other words, ghtjrschs paid the costs for the food ingredients normally, but an unpaid balance occurred because Mujin, the intermediate distributor, failed to pass the payments on to the second-tier supplier (a person surnamed A) who actually supplied the goods.
Lee Jang-woo's side drew a line on suspicions raised that 'Ho-seokchon representative Mr. Son is the actual owner of the distributor (Mujin),' saying "Ho-seokchon representative Mr. Son and Mujin are separate entities." They explained that when Lee Jang-woo opened Ho-seokchon he entrusted operations to Mr. Son, a meat expert and a 20-year acquaintance, and that Mujin is an external transaction partner Mr. Son has dealt with in the past.
Mujin's representative is also reported to have acknowledged his responsibility. A representative for Lee Jang-woo said, "Mujin has already confirmed that 'they received all payments from Ho-seokchon but were unable to pay Company A due to management circumstances,'" and expressed regret at reporting that equated Ho-seokchon with Mujin.
Lee Jang-woo's side chose to confront the controversy over avoiding responsibility head-on. Initially confusion arose when some associates said "Lee Jang-woo is not involved," but the agency explained, "It is true that Lee Jang-woo directly invested in and opened the establishment." They added that because he is an entertainer with frequent external activities, he entrusted day-to-day operations to others and it was difficult to monitor these processes in real time. They also emphasized that the direct messages sent by Company A were simply delayed amid thousands of incoming messages and were not intentionally ignored.
Lee Jang-woo is facing criticism simply because he is a celebrity due to opacity in the distribution stages. Having transformed from actor to restaurateur and sympathizing fully with the situation, he said he "feels a moral responsibility" and promised to cooperate to resolve the matter.
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