When it was revealed that the production company of the musical "Chinjeong eomma," in which the late actress Kim Sumi appeared during her lifetime, had not paid appearance fees for nearly two years, entertainment industry groups launched a joint response.
The Special Honors and Sanctions Ethics Committee of the Korea Entertainment Management Association (KEMA) and the Korea Broadcasting Actors' Labor Union (KBATU) issued a joint statement on the 13th, saying the damage from unpaid appearance fees to actors is a very serious situation.
The KEMA sanctions committee said that a complaint was filed with the KEMA special body sanctions committee after the production company of the musical "Chinjeong eomma," in which the late Kim Sumi appeared and who became deceased in 2024, failed to pay the appearance fees due under the performance arts appearance contract it signed in April 2024, despite the payment dates being clearly specified, and that nearly two years have passed without payment.
They added that they judged they could no longer overlook the situation in which the deceased and her family, who suffered from the production company's failure to pay appearance fees, are now reporting secondary damage, and raised their voices, saying it betrays the contractual principle of good faith, is a significant illegal act by social standards, an unjustifiable disruption of order and an act of disrespect toward the deceased.
They also emphasized that if the production company's nonpayment of the late Kim Sumi's appearance fees continues, it will be considered an illegal act that can no longer be tolerated, that they will lead efforts to expel such companies from the industry and impose regulatory sanctions on the activities of production companies and producers so that the popular culture and arts sector can move forward correctly, and that they will take active measures to resolve the issue with their lives on the line.
KBATU also said that if the musical "Chinjeong eomma" production company does not present a clear resolution or statement regarding its nonpayment of the late Kim Sumi's appearance fees to the sanctions committee and KBATU, it will actively verify any production activities by the problematic production company and take measures to restrict production activities, and that it will continue to respond strongly until the issue of unpaid appearance fees is resolved.
Finally, they said the sanctions committee and KBATU will no longer stand by regarding future cases of unpaid appearance fees for popular culture artists (actors), that they fully acknowledge responsibility for all such problems, and that they will propose and implement active and powerful measures to resolve the issues.
Meanwhile, Kim Sumi appeared in the musical "Chinjeong eomma" for 14 years. However, it was reported that she was preparing a lawsuit over unpaid appearance fees, and that the production company became embroiled in plagiarism allegations, resulting in Kim Sumi not receiving appearance fees since last year. Her son, Jeong Myeongho, also said his mother had recently been stressed because she had not received the appearance fees during her lifetime.
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]