Actress Song Ji Hyo has reportedly stepped up to help the employees of her former agency, Uzurocks, who are facing financial difficulties due to unpaid wages per Dispatch’s recent report.
On the 17th, Dispatch exclusively reported on the damage suffered by the employees of Uzurocks, where Song Ji Hyo was previously affiliated.
Dispatch reported that Song Ji Hyo has not received any settlement payments from Uzurocks even once since signing an exclusive contract with them in October last year, and “the outstanding balance as reported by Dispatch is approximately 900 million won.[around $670,000” Last month, Song Ji-hyo notified Uzurocks of contract termination and filed a lawsuit to claim the unpaid settlement.
According to the report, Uzurocks managers used their personal cards for expenses but failed to properly claim reimbursement, and Song Ji Hyo, who later became aware of this, handed her own card to the managers to use.
The average annual salary of the six Uzurocks employees that Dispatch interviewed was 27 million won [$20,000 yearly], and most of them were young workers who had just entered society. According to Dispatch, they received a notice of delinquency for not paying national pension contributions from their workplace in February and have been experiencing delays in receiving their salaries and settlements for several months.
Employee A, who had to break their savings to cover living expenses, told Dispatch, “I couldn’t afford to live because my salary was delayed. My credit card debt piled up, and I had to break my savings. Eventually, I had to rely on my parents for financial support.” Other employees expressed their frustrations, saying that some of them became credit defaulters, while others resorted to “card shuffling” tactics to make ends meet.
In April of 2023, Song Ji Hyo revealed she left the agency and will be filing a lawsuit for Unpaid Settlements, In response to the reports regarding Song Ji Hyo, the agency admitted to mistakes and said the actress has left the agency.
In October of 2022, Song Ji Hyo signed an exclusive contract with Uzurocks and became close with fellow “Running Man” member Ji Suk Jin. Uzurocks is home to stars such as Ji Suk Jin, Lee Hyun Woo, and more.
Previously, on the 5th of April, Uzurocks was engulfed in allegations of non-payment of salaries to artists and employees due to financial difficulties. In response to reports that the artists’ appearance fees were not being properly settled, Uzurocks said, “There was a news article that salaries and other payments were overdue for our employees, but payments for salaries and 4 major insurances have already been completed for those who have left the company. Salaries for employees who are still working will be paid on the originally scheduled date of April 10th. Quarterly settlements for our artists will also proceed as planned without any delays.”
Source: (A)
